A Coral Nest

**Date Started:** July 4th, 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play:** N/A
**Users Involved:** User:Felosr231, User:Majin Khi, User:NejiHyuga2, User:MorellaVoltaire, User:DeathGr, User:ColeKane101
**Setting:** Clover Kingdom
**Characters Involved:** Lucifer Illuminare, Lowellmina Silva, Dean Bestia, Serena Biblos, Hestia Bestia, Arya Thacker
**Rookie Mages:** Aria Alanis, Alessandro Salvatore, Gehard Silva, Bella Ravenwine

## New Kids

A young man, someone in their early to mid twenties, the captain of the Coral Peacock squad, Lucifer was seen hanging outside of the gala, most of the captains had taken their newest recruits and left to their respective bases. But Lucifer had taken a moment to pause, to soak in some sunlight and fresh air.

"New batch of recruits, new lives to lead." Lucifer said looking up at the clear sky, admiring the peace and tranquility. Despite how calm he was on the outside, internally he felt differently, he felt off. "*Being a captain is still pretty new to me. I'm still not used to all this.*" he thought to himself before the image of Vermillion colored hair woman appeared in his mind. "*But I owe too much to ever look back. I've got too much to look forward too.*"

Lucifer then kicked himself off the wall, walking toward the entrance of the gala, looking around for his recruits. "Hm? I wonder where they are."

" *I didn't even get to say goodbye to mommy, I hope she'll be fine without me, after what I said at the exam I hope that attention of those damn Nobles will focus on me and in my absence they will leave her alone* " Gehard thought to himself with concern clear on his face , walking around the outside area of the Gala carrying a little suitcase with him, he was looking for the captain or the veteran of his newest squadron that would come to search for him after his successful entrance exam.

It didn't take long for Gerhard to see Lucifer and immediately recognize him, approaching the man who would be his captain from that moment on, since it was the first time he saw him up close, the young Silva couldn't help but be surprised by his beauty, immediately concluding that the compliments that the young girls in his social circle were tearing about that man were all true.

But before he could greet him or even say anything, Gehard realized that less than an hour ago he had shouted that he would become the next captain of the Coral Peacock, and that the man in front of him was the current holder of the title, that is, the one he had to reach or even surpass; soon the young Silva found himself overcome by hesitation, remaining silent for long moments, waiting for the captain to react badly to his declaration .Staring at him in awe, until finally he took some courage and introduced himself, but not without swallowing dryly repeatedly as he did so:

"Good morning..., I mean good afternoon Mr.Illuminare..., it is a pleasure to meet you personally,... I am Gehard Silva one of the aspirants you have chosen for you squad."

Lucifer let out a small chuckle before smiling, extending his hand out, "Don't you mean Mr.Future Captain of the Coral Peacocks." Lucifer said, remembering what was said during the selection process if the exams. "*surprised I recruited a Silva. Though while he's not exactly like them, he does certain seem to carry their confidence.*" Lucifer then smiled,"I'm Lucifer Illuminare and I'll be your captain from here on."

The captain of the Coral Peacocks rarely travels anywhere without an escort and it just so happens that Lowellmina Silva was chosen to be one of two of his personal escorts for this occasion. For Lowellmina, this was an opportunity she could not pass up on as a quickly-rising Magic Knight. She is currently in possession of the rank of First-Class Intermediate Magic Knight and her excellent service to the kingdom has brought talks of promoting her to Senior Magic Knight. *If this promotion actually goes through, I'm one step closer to my dream of catching up to* Onee-sama*. I must make sure to be on my best behavior in front of the captain; receiving a direct recommendation from him will certainly help my promotion chances.*

As Lowellmina pondered all of this in her head, she stopped, lingering behind her charge as he greeted a boy with silver hair. *Wait, silver hair...?* Lowellmina unconsciously reached up to touch her own locks of hair which, despite being a progeny of House Silva, a family who's trademark is dazzling silver hair, were deep purple. *Ah, so he's the one. Hmm, I must say, it wouldn't do well for my image if I let this pipsqueak spout all of that drivel and not have him work for it.* Lowellmina decided to speak up, placing her hand gently on her captain's arm and lowering it. She then cracked a smile and said, "Now, now, Captain, I think you are forgetting that you have an actual Silva to consider for your position..."

She then turned to gaze at the Silva boy and sized him up once more. While Lowellmina herself couldn't really care less about the disparity between royalty, nobility, and commoners, she had to maintain an appearance of superiority in front of them. For the boy in front of her especially, she has to sustain an air of preeminence as he is an illegitimate child of her own House Silva; for a boy like him to shout such heavy words, she thought it was her personal duty to show him exactly how tremendous the walls that are herself and other high-ranking members of the Coral Peacocks are.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, half-brother of mine. I am Lowellmina Silva, second cousin of the Captain of the Silver Eagles, Lucielle Silva. While it may be quite forward of me, I would like to nominate myself to be your mentor. As a *legitimate* Silva, I'm sure I can teach you all the tips and tricks you would need to know." Lowellmina finished her greeting by putting her own hand out for the boy to shake, nevertheless, despite her tendencies to simply not care about societal norms, Lowellmina failed to notice that she was releasing a potent aura of intimidation.

"*Damn, he really took note of what I said.*" Gehard thought to himself, swallowing dryly one last time with concern expressed on his face as he heard Lucifer's opening words, a concern that crumbled into a relieved sigh, only for the young man to heared the captain's next words.

Soon the arrival of Lowellmina, took all the attention of the newly admitted Knight Magician, as soon as he put his eyes under her long silver locks Gehard immediately recognized her as a carrier of the blood of Silva, only having his confirmation when he heard her talking to Lucifer, noticing soon the smug way his relative had faced him he soon tried to assume a more upright posture, a more serious expression and a more decisive look, he took a slightly more imposing place before those powerful and experienced Magic Knight before him, a posture much more befitting a member of the Royalty and the man who shouted that he would be the next captain of the Coral Peacock.

" *Lowellmina, I have heard that name, yes ,she is the girl who was Lucielle-San's aprendice a few years ago, I hope even though we are cousins I had never met her in person, really being part of royalty provides a strange family dynamic...*" Gehard decided to leave his thoughts to himself, choosing not to interrupt his distant cousin's presentation, even though he was bothered by the way she emphasized the word Legitimate, Gehard kept himself restrained after all, as the gentleman that was in my nature to start discussions for a mere inconvenience, facing Lowellmina's proposal with caution he thought to himself, " *Why make such a generous offer to a newcomer, especially if it is a bastard son despised by the elite like me, just for blood ties ? no, there is something wrong with that. But it's still a great opportunity, and just as there's no reasonable reason for her to propose it, there's no reason for me to refuse...*"

"I have heard about you, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, it will also be a pleasure to accept your offer, after all if you are Miss Lucielle's cousin you are also my cousin, and I believe that like her my commoner lineage is not an obstacle for you, or am I wrong? "Gehard greeted her, as always without giving up the good ones, with a false smile sympathetic almost sarcastic, looking Lowellmina in the eyes waiting for her answer, hoping that her look would show that she was being sincere or hiding something .

"Lowell, mind not interrupting when I'm speaking to the newest recruit?" Lucifer asked before bringing his attention back to Gehard, "I'm not upset about your claim. I look forward to seeing if you have what it takes to keep true to those words, young silva."

Bella looked around as she hid some of her face with only her left eye barely showing while half of her lips were visible. While she was thrilled to be part of the Coral Peacocks, she wasn't too thrilled to meet the other rookies who were also recruited into the squad. Her shyness had consumed her once more as her heart started to race as she felt her breathing getting heavy. Her vision started to blur, as a small whimper escaped Bella's mouth. Bella managed to take a deep breath as she looked around wondering where Lucifer was. As she looked around walking ahead she bumped into someone. "Oof, Oh no," Bella gasped in shock with her face flushed red as she immediately got up then bowed, "I'm sorry for bumping into you!" As Bella slightly looked up, her eyes widen when she noticed she bumped into the Coral Peacocks captain him.

Lucifer looked down at the young lady bumping into him before smiling from ear to ear with his eyes close, placing his hand on top of her head. "Hey Bella, I was glad to see that you picked my squad earlier." He then locked eyes with her before adding,"please try to relax Miss Bella, I can see how emotionally distraught you are. It's okay, I promise you're safe. Take a breath."

Bella closed her as she took a deep breath. Once she exhaled she was calm but still felt a small bit of shyness. Though for some reason, she now felt calm than she did in a long time. "Sorry, I'm just not used to being around people but again, it's an honor to be part of your squad," Bella bowed in response once more.

After letting out a small chuckle Lucifer bowed to her, "from here on you'll be in my care. I promise to do my best for you as well lady Bella."

Gehard who just nodded in response to Lucifer, had his attention stolen by the sudden arrival of Bella, recognizing her immediately both by her appearance and familiar voice, and having just seen her starring an incident exactly like the one that had occurred to both of them at the beginning of the exams, realizing that this kind of accident seemed to be recurring with the girl and he just smiled discreetly.

"Hey Miss Bella, remember me, I'm the guy who bumped into you earlier, it's good to see that you were successful in the exam and that we will be squad mates" Gehard soon tried to greet the girl with a kind look and hand nod.

Bella slightly jumped a bit but looked over to Gehard with a curious expression on her face. Then her eyes widen when she recognized him from the exams as a small smile formed on her face. At least there was one familiar face that she recognize that made her feel at ease.

"Hello, Gerhard? Is that your name," Bella asked hoping she didn't get his name wrong, "it's nice to see you again. It's funny h-how we're on the same squad after the exams."

"Hm?" Lucifer raised his hand and catch Alessandro who launched himself at the captain. "Too slow as always Ale."

"You can't blame me for trying Master." Alessandro says before chuckling.

"Glad to see how far you've come, glad to see you haven't been slacking off despite me not visiting in a while." He then looked over at Gehard and Bella, "Glad to see you two have already met. Seem to be quick friends."

"Master ?, Mister Alessandro what did you mean by that ?" Gehard questioned Alessandro, being confused by the fact that Lucifer and the boy seemed to know each other. Then pointing with an open hand to the blue haired boy they did him the favor of introducing him to Bella saying, " Miss ,I want you to meet Alessandro Salvatore, he was my companion during the second task, although he seemed a little too determined he turned out to be a good guy, and as the captain said likely we will get along well."

Bella turned her attention to Alessandro with a shy expression on her face. His demeanor appeared to be friendly which to she found soothing and was easy for her remain calm. She looked nervous to speak to him but gave him a small smile as she politely bowed to him. "Hello, my name is Bella Ravenwine," Bella introduced herself, "it's n-nice to meet you." As she rose back up from bowing, she once again gave Alessandro a gentle smile.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Alessandro said before bowing to Bella. "Oh and I call him master because Master used to live at my village, he also visited lots, so he taught me a lot over the years. Him and other master helped me and Aria growing up. Taught us plenty!"

"Now, now Ale. We've gotta get going soon." Lucifer said before looking around, "hm, looks like our way back home is here."

"Uooh, you guys were trained by a captain, that explains why she, I mean you guys showed so much skill." Exclaimed Gehard surprised to know that those who had once been his task mates had trained with someone so important and powerful, he couldn't help but crack a confident smile when he noticed that the possibility of future estra under Lucifer's tutelage was not so unlikely, looking at the people around him, as if he had already acquired some sympathy and thinking to himself "*....I guess even though it's a support squad, in the end it wasn't so bad to have been chosen by the Coral Peacock.*"

Still thinking about the possibility of future training with his captain as well as the fact that Ale and Aria had been treined by him before, as he walked towards the portal Lucifer had indicated to him, he began to look at his cousin's proposal with a slightly less cautious eye, hurrying his steps to reach her before she crossed the dimensional doorway created by some kind of Spatial Magic, he approached Lowellmina and whispered, "Perhaps I was a little rude to you, if that was the case I apologize. I am grateful for your offer, as soon as Miss is available I will be ready to begin training."

Lowellmina didn't take offense at how before she could reply to her half-brother, she was interrupted by a flurry of rookies. She sighed and put her hand down while shrugging her shoulders when she was told off by her captain, only giving him an offhand, "Yes, boss," in reply. As such, she simply followed along her master as they got ready to go through the gate established by the Spatial Magic user of the Coral Peacocks. However, she stopped and turned her head back, looking at her half-brother before sayin, "Alright, in that case, when we get back, I'd like to start right away. It would make good training for myself too." She then returned to look forward and walked through the portal.

## Home Sweet Nest

As the portal opened up on the other end, the group of rookies and captain had reached their destination. Out in a large empty field, surrounded by large hills, almost mountain sized hills. Within here stood a single building surrounded by walls and pillars. The air was fresh yet thick, almost overbearing.

"This is the 'Coral Nest' as some of our members like to call it. It's our base of operations." Lucifer began to speak, seeing that they were within the grounds of the base, away from the empty field. "This base is special as these pillars and walls serve a few purposes, one is to keep the perimeter of the base safe from the effects of the field outside." He then led the way toward the front door of the base. "We're a rather large group, but because of our "support" task, plenty are out on a variety of missions, but I believe there are some members in at the moment." Lucifer then kicked open the door and walked inside, "I'm baaack." He called out inside the base.

While he didn't notice while shouting, in front of Lucifer and the others was a boy with white messy hair and red eyes that wasn't wearing anything on top and was wearing only black pants, a beige belt with a silver buckle, and brown shin-high boots who was doing push-ups while two girls were watching him while having tea, with the one having black hair in a ponytail while the other blond hair in pigtails. Upon hearing Lucifer, the three of them stopped everything they were doing and stood up. "Welcome back, Captain!" they shouted in unison with excited voices.

The entrance hall was grand and lavish, comparable to the interior of a royal palace. A huge red carpet was spread across the marble floor, its patterned and detailed edges meeting twin stairways that curled up to a pair of double doors with golden knockers. Underneath was a hallway that led to the rest of the base's rooms. At the three knights' greeting the pair of double doors slammed open, the sound echoing around the chamber. A shadowed figure walked in from the other side, a lit cigarette held in their mouth. As the light hit the figure's face, it was revealed to be the Vice Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Arya Thacker.

"Captain! I told you to stop kicking open the doors! Welcome back!" The man shouted from the top of the stairs, his gaze hidden behind his sunglasses. Turning his attention to the three magic knights below, he shouted, "The rest of you drop and give me twenty!"

"Wow so that's how your magic knights' bases are, although not as luxurious as royal families' mansions, they are still amazing." Said Gehard staring at the base from top to bottom in wonder as of a child during a walk in the park, awestruck by the grandeur of the entrance hall as well as the glamorous red carpet, by the beautiful details that adorned the portal doors and handrails.

Having his attention stolen by the synchronized greetings of Dean, Hestia, and Serena, and looking especially at the two beautiful girls, staring them down from above being mesmerized by their beauty for a few moments, leading the young gentleman to get flushed cheeks as he thought to himself, "*Beautiful girls, an amazing environment, people the willing and kind, it appears I didn't make the wrong choice.*"

However, as Gehard became more and more dazzled by the great first impression he had had so far, which expressed a warm and confident smile and had already stepped forward ready to greet his newly introduced companions, his attention was stolen by Thacker's loud shout that brought him back to reality making him remember that he was first of all in a military organization, Stepping back and assuming an erect posture and a slightly more serious face, questioning whether or not to obey while looking at the figure of the man with a confused see, "*Who is this man, and he seems to be older than the Captain. He certainly must be one of the oldest members, the question is whether or not to obey him?* "

Bella was mesmerized by how beautiful the hallway was. Her cyan eyes sparkled as she looked around she couldn't even the right words to describe the hallway of the mansion. "It's so beautiful," Bella said to herself, "I never thought that Captain Lucifer would have an alluring mansion like this." A small blush appeared on Bella's face as she smiled knowing she couldn't contain her excitement.

"Now, now, try to be easy on the new recruits Ary." Lucifer said before walking away, "though, he is our Vice Captain. So, do what you will." He then stopped and looked back at them, "You guys have some fun with the rest of the members, I have to go to the library for a while. Make yourselves at home, this is your base too." He then vanished in an instant, at the speed of blink or maybe even faster, he was gone.

Alessandro looked around admiring the base, ignoring Lucifer. Not out of disrespect but from his fascination of the mansion like appearance in front of him.  "Wooooaaaahh these place is amazing!"

"That's right." The Vice-Captain agreed with the young mage as he began to walk down the left staircase, his voice taking on a softer and calmer tone. "The Coral Peacock's Base is a reflection of its squad members; Its rooms are diverse, each one different from the last. So many qualities and capabilities makes the perfect example of what this squad is: a jack of all trades." Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Arya continued to speak as he began to approach the rookies, his voice back to sounding like a drill-instructor. "You will become experts in every Magic Knight duty. I will train you to become the ultimate mages. Do you know *why* we must become masters of every trade?" He asked, emphasizing his question by pointing a finger upwards. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "It is because *no one* wants second-rate backup! If a mission is too big for one Squad to handle then *we* will get it done! If there are mass casualties and a rescue is needed, *we* get it done! We are the backbone of the Magic Knights, and I will not tolerate any weak plates in my backbone!"

Now standing directly behind the three who had greeted their captain, he growled, "I thought I said to drop and give me twenty." Dean, Serena, and Hestia all dropped to the push-up position and began pumping up and down, afraid to anger their vice-captain further. Turning away from the three, Arya stared down the rookies. "Captain Illuminare may have seen something in you, but you will prove your worth to *me* during Initiation. Until then, feel free to explore your new home." The Vice-Captain turned away, passing his three knights still doing push-ups and walked up the stairs until he passed through the pair of double doors, shutting them with a slight bang that echoed around the room once again.

"Hey, Hey, what are your names guys? What magic do you use?" asked Dean who finished his push ups; His face was now close to Alessandro's much to the latter's awkward position. Then Hestia punched his head and pulled him back "Hey, what was that for?" asked Dean while ready to cry in a cute way, only for her to forcefully make him bow his head along with hers.

"Please forgive my stupid brother," asked Hestia with bowing head and then looked at the trio, "He is like a dog; excited to meet new people but forgets what personal space is." She ended up saying in a snarky tone while giving a mischievous look at him, with him going from embarrassed to offended.

"How dare you call me a dog, you sly little fox!?" he asked offended while trying to catch her in his hands, only for her to dive and step away from him while showing her tongue and teasing him.

"Please forgive them," said Serena who stepped up and bowed at them, "Both are good-hearted individuals, especially Dean, but as you can see, they tend to fight like most siblings." she said while looking at them with a warm smile.

"That's it, time to learn you how to respect your big brother" said Dean with a smile of irritation while his hands had wolf head auras.

"Fufufu, give it your best shot, oh *great* Big Brother" said Hestia in an ironic tone while bringing out her whip and setting it ablaze, with the two now being fired up.

The upstairs doors slammed open again. "If you damage something while infighting it means pay cuts! And more push-ups! So save yourselves some cash and sore arms unless you want me to crack some skulls!" The doors shut, though the Vice-Captain couldn't be seen.

"Y-Yes Sir..." said both of them in a low voice filled with regret and fear as they undid their magic. Dean then approached the rookies while smiling and having his hand extended "sorry for all of this. Welcome to the squad, I'm Dean Bestia and these are my sister Hestia and our best friend Serena Biblos" he said while properly introducing himself and the others.

"*This guy is really a hard line, if I had not previously been introduced to Mr. Lucifer as captain seeing this posture I would say without a doubt that the captain is really Mr. Arya*" Gerhard thought to himself, swallowing dryly as he closely followed Arya's figure with a statuesque look that mixed fear and respect as he listened intently to her words as she dared to interrupt him.

Taking on a slightly less serious posture, sighing with relief as he watched the vice-captain depart, Gehard was completely stripped of the hesitant posture that permeated him as he saw the rather childish behavior of Hestia and Dean, whispering as a discreet smile stamped on his face, "So that's how brothers behave, maybe it would be fun to have a brother or something."

As he was ready to introduce himself, he was again interrupted by the vice captain's shout, which caused him to startle and look up the stairs frighteningly waiting for Arya to shout something else or even reappear, swallowing dryly recomposing himself quickly in time to hear Dean's greeting and answer him with a friendly smile and a nod, "No need to apologize, by the way it is a great pleasure to meet you, this also applies to Misses ,Hestia and Serena, my name is Gehard Silva and I really hope we can get along well as squad mates from now on. "

Alessandro walked forward and saw Dean and the rest. Before speaking he bowed with a grin on his face when coming back up, "hey! I'm Alessandro Salvatore! It's nice to meet ya!" He exclaimed before nothing someone walking through a hallway. All he saw was a feminine figure, with paralyzing crimson eyes. "*what...who was that?*" he thought to himself before looking at the rest if the rookies.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go explore the base some more! I really like what the Vice Captain said about it being diverse. I wanna see more of it!" He said before dashing off.

Bella was a bit curious about what Arya mentioned earlier. She wanted to know more about the initiation and what it entailed. Bella shyly went in the direction where Arya headed then approached Arya's door where she knocked three times hoping she wasn't disturbing him. She cleared her throat as she tried to speak but her shyness consumed her. "Ummm e-excuse me," Bella asked meekly trying to speak up, "w-what was it that you were talking about with an initiation?"

One of the doors creaked open, the Vice Captain staring down at the rookie.

"The test will involve finding and catching an object. That's all I'm willing to say; You'll figure it out when it's time to begin. For now, just make yourself at home." Despite his intimidating stare, Vice-Captain Arya's voice wasn't as sharp or angry as it had been just a minute ago. "Welcome to the Coral Peacocks, kid." The door shut.

Bella tilted her head to the side curiously wondering what the expression was about. She had a feeling be wasn't too friendly but at the same time she didn't try to question it any further. "*Maybe I should look around the mansion a bit more,*" Bella thought to herself as she began to explore looking around with curious cyan eyes.

"My,My, are you lost perhaps?" Bella was wandering around and a female voice caught her attention, with the voice proving to be Serena's "If you want, I can show you around, what do you say?" she asked smiling.

Bella jumped a bit from the sound of the woman's voice as she slowly turned around. Her shy eyes looked over to Serena as she gazed at her with a curious expression on her face. "Oh, umm s-sure," Bella nodded stuttering a bit.

"Fufufu, don't be so nervous" said Serena while smiling "hmm, let's see...we are close to the training grounds and I see that is crowded" she said and her eyes glowed for a moment "follow me please" she asked and Bella followed her. They went back to the hall and from there they went up and entered the door, bringing themselves on a darker hallway that had three paths while there were torches on the wall "here on the right are the male rooms and on the other side are our own rooms" she explained and then went straight ahead "here are is the bath" she said while showing her a big bath that had a wall in between to seperate men and women. They then headed down the hall again and this time, Serena headed on a door near the entrance, with her and Bella descending and what appeared before them was a dome garden with various flowers, a fountain and stairs with lion statues that lead to a door on a tree "and here is our garden, a nice place to soothe your mind while there..." she said as she pointed her finger at the tree "...is the Captain's room and office and this concludes the navigation through the base" she said while bowing.

#### The Ice Princess

Upon walking through the gate, Lowellmina wasted no time in leaving the rookies for the other members of her squad to deal with. After all, she thought it was a waste of time for them to exchange any further pleasantries than they already had. That is why she walked past all of them, including her own vice-captain only giving him a slight bob of the head as a greeting. She headed to the back of the base into one of the base's many training halls. This specific one she entered was one usable only by the senior members of the Coral Peacocks although, of course, others can use it on the permission of the senior members. Upon stepping foot inside, she began to stretch; she believed that she should loosen her body before doing anything strenuous so as to prevent the body from panicking. When she finished doing so, she muttered, "*Ice Creation Magic: Ghost of Radiata*."

The temperature in her immediate vicinity instantly dropped by one order of magnitude. Around her right hand, ice crystals began forming. They grew and grew, each and every crystal taking the shape of a beautiful snowflake. Snowflakes grew into flower buds, flower buds grew into flowers, and flowers grew into a sword. The blade of frozen water fit perfectly into her hand, its ice cold temperatures not bothering her in the least. Lowellmina held up her sword, her hand near her chest as she cut her binocular vision into two halves with the sword. Lowellmina felt like she couldn't properly concentrate if she wasn't holding a sword in her hands and now that she was, she closed her eyes, focusing her inner source of magical energy. Suddenly opening them, she sent out a burst of her own mana as she began wrestling for control of the mana in the area. She was currently attempting to perfect her Mana Zone, a skill her cousin had taught her.

"Ohhh, what a great technique!" said an excited male voice that proved to be Dean who was at the gate's entrance and was watching Lowellmina training.

"No Dean, come back, it's rude to bother people that want to do things alone" reprimanded him Hestia who just caught up with him "sorry, miss Lowellmina, you know by now how Dean can be, so please forgive him" she said while bowing her head in apology and with a mix of nervousness.

Like Dean, Gehard watched Lowellmina's training, but unlike his veteran he just kept his eyes fixed on his cousin without interrupting her, just looking surprised to witness her using Ice Magic, having some of his questions and doubts regarding his cousin's intentions apparently answered, he thought to himself, "'So in the end the last name and a small percentage of the blood isn't the only things we share; Like me she is an Ice mage, this explains in part why she was interested in teaching me specifically, after all when master and disciple have the same attribute, it is much easier for the one who learns to understand and apply the teachings, since almost no adaptations are needed of course now it makes perfect sense...*"*

But before he could continue his reasoning. When Gerhard, who was a few meters away from Lowellmina, welcomed under the balcony, felt a cold breeze gently shake his hair and his cassock, drawing the boy's attention to the fact that until then the cold air resulting from a short-distance spell like the one Lowellmina seemed to be using had not spread at such a distance; He was even more amazed when even with his shallow magical detection skills he could feel the mana around him being drawn towards his cousin, Gehard had witnessed even an experienced and talented magician like his father demonstrate difficulty in mastering such a technique , and seeing Lowellmina use it caused him to stare in awe and even murmur aloud, " It's amazing she really is manipulating the mana of the environment, even dad only managed to master this technique in his last days he told me that only someone on a Level close to that of a Captain could use it, if that's so, I really have found an amazing tutor."

While she has yet to attain mastery over Mana Zone, Lowellmina is skilled enough to at least be able to tell when people are invading her "territory", that is, when the mana in the atmosphere is disturbed by a person with magic entering her field of commandment. She first detected the familiar mana signatures of her juniors, the Bestia siblings, before she detected the mana signature of her sibling. Without turning around, she said, "Ah, you're here, Gehard. What do you say? Are you up for a little spar?" Completely ignoring her more senior juniors, Lowellmina called out to her half-brother. She intended to use this opportunity to try optimizing her Mana Zone for use in combat; her cousin's expertise in this skill was far more advanced than Lowellmina's and she was desperate to catch up to her. She thought that it'd be more of a challenge for her if she faced another ice mage and her half-brother was one.

Gerhard stared at Lowellmina with a dumbfounded look upon hearing his cousin's proposal, since he had just witnessed her use a skill as advanced as Mana Zone, he couldn't help but form an extremely high concept of her abilities, perhaps even mistaken, unable to contain his despair that illustrated his face he took a step backwards, taking in the irrationality that surrounded idea of facing someone experienced and strong as his cousin had demonstrated,he being only a rookie ,he desperately shook his head from side to side, "Calm down Miss Lowellmina, you don't thought a fight is a bit rushed, isn't it better we start with a slightly simpler lesson."

"Come now, dear brother," Lowellmina stated, finally deigning to turn around and face him. She brought down her sword, brandishing it outward with its blade pointed at an angle towards the ground. "When *Onee-sama* trains me, she does it by beating it directly into my body. I'm just exercising the tried-and-true method she practiced on me." Lowellmina made no further move, remaining in an entirely relaxed position and keeping her Mana Zone active, as she added, "Now, go ahead. Attack me as you see fit. I won't move from this spot."

"*Damn it's pretty expensive of Luciell-san to have trained her like that, and the worst of it all is that the truth is that I won't become strong and be respected if I don't give it my all, if I don't risk myself I'll never stop being the useless bastard that only served to taint the pure blood of the Royalty, as those damn people say I am...* " Gehard thought to himself, stifling the fear and hesitation that persisted in tormenting him with a heavy sigh, removing his coat to keep it intact he soon tried to hang it under the back of a chair next to him, unfastening his grimoire from the support, making it float beside him, looking Lowellmina deep in the eyes he said, "If you have no other way but to fight then I will do it, I can not and will not hold back, then Lowellmina-San get ready because I will give everything I have !"

It was enough for Gerhard to take a couple of steps forward to feel that with each step he was closer to his cousin the more the air cooled and the more the mana behavior was out of the usual, causing the boy to stop immediately , looking at Lowellmina before looking back, calculating how many steps he had taken since he felt the air cool down , formulating a mental map of the region where the Mana Zone technique extended, Combining his assumptions he thought to himself, "*From what Dad explained to me a few years ago once you enter the Zone, you can be detected anywhere in the range and can be attacked from anywhere, so if I attack her from the front it will be useless after all I will be noticed and neutralized before I even get close, so my best chance is to distract her by flanking her quickly and surgically.*"

Bellows the grimoire a single time , Gerhard extends both arms expelling his mana through them, the magical energy soon spread the if around him turning into a cold air and clumping specific points forming dozens of feathers made of icicles, each one of them erect stiff and sharp like knives , catching three feathers with his left hand holding them between his fingers like kunais, grabbing another feather with his other hand holding it like a dagger, shaping it into too many feathers that floated without me intono in a crescent moon formation, just before making them tear through the air at a speed comparable to the arrows fired at full force by a platoon of professional archers, thanks to her formation Lowellmina would be shot from both sides as well as from the front, which in Gehard's conception would give her a bit more of a headache to defend herself.

"Ice Creation Magic: Ice Bird Feather Storm"

Even if he had been dealing with less experienced Gehard would not have limited himself to any so simple and with Lowellmina it would be no different. He knew that for someone at her power level that blow would be nothing more than a mere distraction and used it exactly that way, once he had fired at his cousin, the young Silva took off running, keeping to the edge of the Mana Zone perimeter, until the moment the feathers reached Lowellmeina to finally invade the perimeter where she had full control of the Mana, being sure that he would be noticed he chose to invest under her with all his speed, which unfortunately was not much above average, giving everything to stab her in the back while she was busy dealing with her first attack.

*Wow! A valiant effort... for a* child*, that is.*

As soon as the spell entered her area of influence, they shattered apart. Lowellmina had used her Mana Zone to exercise control over the residual mana that formed the spell and tore it to pieces; as a result, the spell destroyed itself. This was something Lowellmina had figured out in her pastime while making her regular secret visits to the Forsaken Realm; she noted that she was able to disrupt all spells that were of the same attribute as the magic she uses. In other words, ice magic is entirely ineffective once it enters her sphere of influence. However, in exchange, as she cannot use other attributes, she can't disrupt those and she'd have to deal with them personally.

In any case, the spell that Gehard had so meticulously set up as a distraction was all but a wasted effort as she turned around on her heels, a magnificent maneuver that shows Lowellmina's status as a high noble experienced in dance, and met Gehard's stab with her own sword. She had perfectly stopped him using *just the very tip* of her blade of ice. "Hmm, I must say, that was a very good choice on your part. Distracting your opponent then attempting a feint at their weak spot is textbook military tactics. Now, I hope that isn't all you have up your sleeve, is it, dear brother?" *Although I wonder exactly how much can you can do... after all, you are directly in front of me and fully within my Mana Zone.*"

Gehard couldn't help but be shocked to see Lowellmina destroy his spell completely, after all this exceeded even his high expectations, because even having briefly cogitated the scenario where his cousin would take control of his spells by having the same magical affinity, not even in his worst prediction his ice feathers would be obliterated and completely unusable like that, something that led him to the desperate conclusion that even his long distance attacks would be useless to deal with his cousin's Mana Zone, and having his sneak attack be completely thwarted by his cousin's graceful and agile movement, made him emerge for a brief moment in his thoughts, "*Trying to fight this is madness, it's not possible that I can't hit her either at long or short range.* "

But before the despair became and obstacle or even a weakness that Lowllmina could exploit ,Gehard dispelled it keeping a cool head facing directly his cousin with a haughty look worthy of someone with the surname Silva, he searched his mind for a gap as and or even an idea of something he could do against the highly refined skills of his cousin , having been the very praise that had directed her the hint that led him to a light that was put into practice without the slightest hesitation .

Drawing his ice dagger from his cousin's sword, he retreated quickly with a few long strides without losing his balance, gaining a space of about three times his height (if he laid down on the ground) immediately shook his arm and threw the only ice feather in his right hand in the direction of Lowellmina's face, using this as another feint, he advanced again on his cousin coming from the side , Positioning his hand now free at the height of the head prepared to use his arm as an obstacle for a future counter-attack targeting that region, he approached throwing a punch with all his strength, aiming at the exposed waist of Lowa using his left fist, counting with the last feathers of ice that he had left keeping them stuck between his fingers he intended to pierce his cousin using them and still causing a blunt with his punch.

"Oh my, that guy sure has guts!" said an amazed Dean upon seeing Gehard's attempt to counter-attack, but Hestia sighed.

"It won't be so easy you know. Mana Zone not only brings the surrounding mana under your control to power-up spells, but also increases your physical capabilities, so this attempt might be in vain. After all, even without Mana Zone, she is skilled enough in close combat to give even *you* a run for your money." explained Hestia to her brother while sure things wouldn't work for Gehard.

"Oho."

Ignoring the riffraff watching her duel, Lowellmina very easily dispelled the ice feathers thrown at her. Ice crystals hurriedly condensed around her back, manifesting into wings not dissimilar to those on the backs of angels. She tapped once against the floor and just that was enough to push her into the air, completely and elegantly dodging her half-brother's attacks. Her wings flapped once and she rode the mana currents to float in the air. "Humu, very well-placed attack. However, it seems that your knowledge of Mana Zone is slightly lacking because you failed to calculate *this* into your equation." Lowellmina hovered in the air before raising her left hand over her head, palm facing her brother. All around her, more ice crystals began forming, condensing into ice spears of various sizes. "Do your best in dodging, alright~?" she sang sweetly as she turned her hand 90 degrees and brought it down, as if cutting through the air. True to her hand movements, the thirty or so ice spears began raining down on Gehard, slicing the air as they went.

Despite the surprised look on his face Gehard was not the least bit incredulous at seeing Lowellmina avoid his blow with ease, for him it was the mere confirmation of the self patterns he had formulated about her in his mind, even staring at her as he saw her float away with a resigned look as she took a step back and pulled herself together, a look that flashed ferociously for an instant as he heard his cousin's comment.

But he smothered the ferocity with a sigh so that it wouldn't rob him of his self-control, clearing his mind in an attempt to find a way to reach Lowellmina fully, and perhaps this was a bad decision, for it was at that very instant that he felt the mana around him change radically and drag the cold air under his head at specific points, even if it was happening on a summary scale he recognized that process for it was the same as in his spell, thinking to himself as he built up the courage to lift his eyes up into the air. "*...It can't be*"

Raising his eyes, he saw the dozens of ice blades that hovered below his head, quickly counting the almost forty blades, he quickly concluded that running was useless since the tache would cover an area that he would be unable to cover with his speed, a certainty that left him even more shocked, desperately looking at his grimoire, leafing through the few filled pages quickly in search of something that could defend him from such an attack, but he did not get even one answer.

And the moment the arrows tore through the air in his direction, he could declare surrender but his body was paralyzed and his mind was completely blank which was evident by his look completely empty of feeling, the feeling of helplessness and the genuine fear of death stole the rationality of which the young Silva was so proud, if he didn't know that technique so well he wouldn't be so afraid but having made a similar technique his main weapon made him know perfectly well how it would end for him, made him feel a genuine fear that exploded into a scream while in a purely instinctive action closing his arms crossed in front of his face to protect him.

"DAMN IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO END LIKE THIS !!!"

But in the instant that mere meters separated the ice spears from Gehard's body that would be completely shredded in moments, a flood happened, his grimoire passed alone a single leaf, and at the same time that arcane language voraciously filled the leaf until then white Gehard's mana went from his body still under him, converting into cold air quickly took the form of a pair of ice wings perfectly sculpted as if the most competent craftsman had made them, Intertwining one under the other, the structures that alone had a thickness easily compared to a thick wall of glass became an even more robust defense that barred the ice stakes causing most of them to simply bounce or break, with the m exception of those that did not collide with the obstacle, which tore through the air to the earth beside Gerhard penetrating the earth with such force that they went almost completely inside the ground.

"What the- a new spell!? And it protected him?" wondered a surprised and amazed Hestia from what she saw, all while her brother had a warm smile on his face.

"Spells are received either from training or from intense feelings and situations. His intense wish to survive against certain death gave him the means to escape it. He probably was never brought into a situation where he would feel the fear of death and that's why he obtained this spell" explained Dean while keeping looking at the fight.

The wings however were not intact, and not for less since they had just stopped the attack of someone much more powerful than their creator, an attack with the power amplified by the Mana Zone, something that compromised the structure of them in such a way that they shattered into several pieces of ice and fell to the ground, just after colliding with the last blade. Without feeling any in his body Gehard opened his eyes and groped every millimeter of his body in search of the smallest of injuries, finding none, confused and staring, he stared at the pieces of ice scattered across the lawn and his grimoire opened in a spell he had never seen before, he muttered, "How am I alive and in one piece ?..., what happened here ?..., where did this spell come from...?"

With his glass overflowing with the adrenaline he had just experienced, he tried to take a step forward, but without control of his adult legs, what he managed to do was to fall under one knee, his breathing was out of breath and his heart beat fast and strong, like the trot of a troop of running horses, His shocked look and stunned expression were a clear sign of the complete confusion in which the young man found himself, he didn't understand what had just happened, all he knew was that he didn't want to experience that feeling again, and even though he was panting he was sure to shout that, "Arrf..., that's enough Miss Lowellmina! Arrrf..., I surrender!!!"

"The ending was predictable" said a proud Hestia to herself, much to Dean's curiosity.

"You sure admire her, don't you?" he asked her overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.

"How *not* to admire her? She is rich, powerful, elegant and a high ranked Magic Knight. Seriously, she is an idol!" she explained excited to her uninterested brother.

"At the very least, she isn't a dumb tomboy..." he michievously said in a whisper and he saw Hestia trying not to punch him and then looked again at the Silva duo "still, just because a fight is hopeless, it doesn't mean that one shouldn't try. After all, one can become strong only when he challenges his limits, don't you think?" he ended up asking with a warm smile, with Hestia giving such a smile too while looking at him and then at the Silva duo.

Lowellmina's eyes widened slightly at her brother suddenly developing a new spell. She couldn't help but smile as she saw this because this reminded her of the day when she developed Phantom of Sanguinea in the face of her cousin's Mercury Magic. Like that instance with her cousin, she forced her brother to develop without even using an actual spell from her grimoire; indeed, her grimoire was still tucked away in its pouch, fastened away at her waist. She snapped her fingers upon hearing her brother's declaration of acquiescence, breaking her spells and causing them to float away. She then dismantled her Mana Zone as well as her sword of ice, returning her mana to a normal resting state.

"Hmm, not too shabby for your first try," she said. "You even awakened a new spell. You get a passing grade."

Being completely exhausted, not by lack of Mana or excessive physical effort, but by the trauma of the near-death experience he had just experienced, Gerhard sat down stretching his legs under the grass, bringing his grimoire close to him, staring with a grateful gaze for a few brief moments at the page opened on the spell that had just saved his skin from Lowellmina's attack, thinking to himself,"'I don't know how this spell came about, I only know that if it wasn't for it I might not be breathing.'"

Having his attention stolen by her he couldn't help but feel comforted and even happy that even though he didn't even come close to hurting her he was still able to be complimented and have approval from her, making his eyes sparkle a little more optimistically."Thank you, although I wasn't sure how that happened, I'm glad I escaped unharmed and still managed to prove my worth to you." Gehard answered her Lowellmina, with a shy smile, still his joy was evident as he even felt a little more invigorated to the point of getting to his feet as his breathing slowly became less breathless and his heart beat a little calmer.

However, after closing his grimoire and picking it up to put it in the holder at his waist, a suspicion disturbed his mind, looking Lowellmina up and down realizing that the grimoire had been in the same place since the moment she had challenged him, calmly remembering every moment of the battle and he realized that she had not pulled it out at any time," *It can't be, I didn't even make her use a formal spell, all that was just the power of the Mana Zone ? If it's the power of the Mana Zone, is my power so insignificant or is this technique so strong? ,I could barely scratch her or make her take it seriously and she's not even a captain , it was three years of training for nothing ?*"

As the thoughts filled his mind, the cheerfulness in his face gradually faded and the happy gleam in his eyes became pure disappointment, finishing putting away his grimoire, he said goodbye and walked gloomily back inside the base, "Excuse me Miss Lowellmina, I'm a little tired and I don't feel very well,With your license, I'm going to take a shower and find my room to rest,."

"Umu, you go ahead and do that," Lowellmina said. While this comment may seem unnecessary, it should be noted that Lowellmina had not used an actual spell from her grimoire, let alone even deigning to remove it from its holder. This proves that she is still acting condescending towards her brother even if she is doing it unconsciously as she normally would not discriminate.

#### Nest Exploration

In the mythical like library found in the eccentric magic knight base, there was a miniature pond in the center of it, with a single tree found in the middle of it. The library had walls cover d with countless books from all over clover kingdom and even beyond. There was a glass dome on too allowing natural sunlight to come in yet not enough to damage the books. It was sight to see in it's own, almost as though it were ripped straight from a fairy tail. Sitting in a large tree branch Lucifer was reading a book with a deep crimson red color.

"You're not spending more time with the rookies Lucy?" The scarlet eyed Ishtar Kokkinos asked before suddenly appearing in the library near the tree. "It's "that" again isn't it?"

"Lucifer closed his book before tucking it into the tree and jumping off and landing in front of her. "It never gets easier, Ishi." Lucifer responds before looking down at Ishtar.

Ishtar places a hand on his head before ruffling his hair,"there, there captain. Take a breath, don't make me call Captain Rose to give you a thrashing to knock this funk off of you." Ishtar the turned her head, noticing the door creaking open, "Well, well!" She grinned gleefully looking at the blue haired rookie walking in, "Been quite some time hasn't it Ale?"

Ale giggles before running up to the duo ahead of him! "Ishi! Ishi! It's been forever!" Alessandro ran up and hugged Ishtar incredibly happy and excited!

"It's been quite the while since me or the captain here visited your village. I'm glad to see you've managed to get in the squad." She then noticed how bulky his sleeves of his pants and legs were. "You're still wearing those cuffs, what is it three pairs on arms and legs?"

"Mhm! I'm always working on it!"

"*to wear those magic cuffs on legs and arms, not just that but three pairs on each, he did take his training to heart.*" Ishtar thought before looking over to Lucifer. I will go get Alessandro aquatinted with more if the base. You should make sure Dante is ready for the initiation today."

"Yeah I guess you're right." Lucifer said before looking at the tree then just like before vanished. The little red booked tucked away had the title "Memories" on it.

Ale and Ishtar then began to roam around the base, walking up and down the halls of the base.

As the two wandered around, Ale looked over at Ishtar, "Ishi? Is there something wrong with the captain? He's not quite like this. I mean he wasn't mean or anything. But something was definitely off."

"Captain isn't the type to enjoy this all that much.\* Before Ishtar could continue she smiled warmly, "but don't worry, he's just the way he is. We can't really change it. Just look forward to what's to come, we peacocks tend to go big for just about anything. After all as Captain says, "it's not about how long you live but how you live, is what matters." Ishtar finished before pausing, looking down at a wide eye Alessandro, "is something wrong?"

"Do you like the captain? You remember his words and look so mu-" before Alessandro could finish his thoughts he tripped, rolling down the stairs. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"...I can see why lady Aria calls him an idiot," Ishtar thought outloud before looking over down the hall. "Hm? You're here Dante." She said noticing an approaching figure.

"Captain asked me to find you to have you notify everyone, the initiation is kicking off." the young man with mixed colored hair, his purple eyes and ruffed up clothes. "So...im gonna assume you didn't push that kid down...right?"

"Well no...but Im not gonna say I wasnt tempted to." She said before giggling, opening a portal Infront of her. Once she opened the one in front of her, one appeared in every room of the base, "ahem, everyone, we are kicking off the initiation, so please gather at the front doors, captains orders." She announced through her portal before closing then all.

"*Damn, if things go on like this I'll never reach the level of a Captain, my performance against Miss Lowelllmina was ridiculous and she's not even the Vice Captain of the Squadron. Tomorrow we'll train again, I have to find a way to overcome or at least deal with the Mana Zone, it's impossible that this technique doesn't even have a weakness. I'm sure that if I find this weakness I'll be able to reduce the power gap between us...'*" Gehard thought to himself. Although the expression on his face still illustrated the annoyance for his low performance in training, his look was a little more energetic than when he had left Lowellmina's company, indicating that even though he realized how far he was from his goal he was not willing to give up; A resignation that came from the burden he carried.

But before he could find the bathroom or even take many steps, Ishtar's words reached him, realizing soon that the voice was unknown to him, he didn't have much time to think about it, because when he heard that the initiation was about to begin his focus was completely stolen, deducing soon that his rest would not come so soon, he muttered after a heavy sigh, "Oh yes, Mr. Arya said something about this initiation. Tsc..., I actually came to think that this long day was about to end, but I guess I was wrong."

Seeing the portal forming near him, Gehard walked slowly towards it, already deducing that the fruit of the Spatial Magic would take him to the front of the base he entered the dimensional distortion , his assumption being confirmed with the moment his eyes crossed with the green grass and the sidewalk that led to the large entrance doors, from moving a little away from the portal he briefly turned his attention to the other portals waiting for the other novices to emerge through them.

Bella looked at the portal with curious cyan eyes and was a bit hesitant at first. Though when she noticed that the other novices were making their way through the portals too. She took a deep breath as she cautiously walked towards it, until she ended up where Gehard was. "*I wonder what the initiation would be like*," Bella thought to herself as she patiently waited for the others to cross over. She felt nervous about the initiation but at the same time her heart was racing of what was to come for she wasn't going to turn back.

Ale heard the voice and his eyes widened, hearing that there was an initiation ceremony. He quickly jumped through the portal, arriving with the rest of the rookies. "Guys! We got some big initiation ceremony! I can't wait!"

"Looks like someone is excited." Their captain Lucifer said as he appeared to the rookies and the gathering members of the squad. "I hope you three are ready."

The portal that had transported the mages closed, revealing none other than the Vice-captain behind it. He walked slowly and rhythmically past the older squad members and stopped in front of the four rookies. The Vice-captain almost looked calm, peaceful even. Then he took a deep breath.

"Welcome to what may just be your last day as a Magic Knight! I don't know what you rookies did that convinced the Captain you're worth something, and I do not care! As of now, you are all weak! You are all bleeders!" The Vice-captain shouted at the newbies, glaring at each of them behind his sunglasses. "You have a chance today to prove you're worth more than the dirt I'm standing on, and even then it won't be by much!" He turned around, gazing past the pillars of the courtyard to the vast field surrounding the Coral Peacock base.

"Each of you must obtain one of these to pass the test!" He shouted, raising his right hand which clutched three small golden bells by their strings. "You must pursue your target, who will be carrying a bell, and retrieve it by any means necessary. Any questions?" The Vice-captain growled, his cigarette glowing brightly at its tip as if it too was smoldering with anger.

"Tsc..., I knew this guy was hardline and that he would cause trouble..., but I didn't imagine it would be so soon." Gehard grumbled upon hearing the affronting manner in which Arya introduced herself and spoke, insults like that wouldn't normally upset Gehard so much, because it was something he was already used to living with thanks to the constant harassment directed at him and his mother, but Gehard was already saturated by the mental fatigue that day full of ups and downs had given him, which led him to close his expression and snort angrily.

"*To take someone's bell...,I read something like that in a Novel once,. I think the secret is to stay focused and work in a collective way so that one doesn't end up getting in the way of the other, this will certainly decrease our chance of failing...* " Gehard thought about his intimate analyzing the proposal of the test and considering the best way to solve it, his eyes shone with the determination of who wanted to end it as soon as possible and the confidence he had in teamwork that had already given its fruits in the battle against the Hobgoblin earlier, but this confidence was shaken when a hypothesis came to mind when he remembered the defeat he had just suffered for Lowellmina, "*...it will work out, unless, who will carry the bells is...*"

Directing his eyes to Lucifer and then Arya himself with a fearful look, he swallowed dryly and taking courage decided to break the silence, asking, "Mr. Arya and who would be this or that who will carry the three bells?!"

Slowly, the Vice-captain turned around and faced the rookie. "You sorry scum will have the privilege of fighting yours truly." He said with a grin, though it didn't look friendly. "You have three minutes to prepare yourselves. If I were you I wouldn't waste them." Apparently finished, Arya walked away towards the middle of the field to await the new recruits.

"What? Mister Arya will hold the bells?! Damn, poor them, he doesn't know what holding back means!" said a shocked Dean while his sister Hestia was trembling from remembering him in action at some instances.

Gehard broke into a cold sweat without taking his static eyes off Arya as he walked away, less so without getting a completely concrete answer, the indirect words directed at him only served to make him more certain of the worst case scenario he had envisioned. In his mind it was certain that He, Bella and Ale would have to rip the rattles off the vice-captain himself, this inevitably guided him to give a heavy, muttering sigh, "Damn, we're going to have to face him.... How many times will I have to flirt with death until today is over?"

"*So that's being part of the magic knights, this is already the second time I've had me face a veteran on the same day, worst case scenario comes true. At this rate I'll be dead in a week, I'll leave my mother alone and put everything to waste, maybe it's better to throw in the towel ...*" Geahard thought to himself, his discouraged look confirmed that his intention to give up was completely empty, but his determination was greater and using this he suppressed this feeling with a long sigh and shaking his head from side to side, he scolded himself, "*..., not giving up, not even thinking, acting in such a cowardly way would not only be breaking the promise I made to Dad, it would be like spitting on his grave. If I have to die fighting here I will do it with my head held high, since he died I don't want to leave mommy alone, but if that happens I trust Lucielle-San to take care of her...""*

Putting a smile a little nicer and cheerful on his face, he put one of his hands in his pockets , facing Bella and Ale, he called them closer gesturing with one of his hands , and said trying his best not to show the insecurity that still permeated him, "Hey guys, come closer! We have three minutes to plan, we can not waste time, of course if you agree to work in groups. Although if my hypothesis is right our chances are tiny, if we work in cooperation we can increase them even a little."

Alessandro walked over with a determined smile clear on his face, ready and excited for what was to come. "Let's do this guy's!" He cheered, throwing his fist in the air, pumped up. "So what's the plan?"

Bella nervously looked on as she went over to the others while excited for the task at the same time, she was internally shaking. "Umm, s-so what's the plan," Bella asked in a shy tone.

"*A plan ..., maybe nothing we try will really last long after all our opponent is Vice Captain who for sure has faced many battles and has a completely different power level than ours ...* " Gehard thought to himself with a worried look, he knew that the fight that was to come would be very hard and nothing conventional would work, and he also knew that without knowing anything about his probable opponent it would be impossible to elaborate a tactic to deal with him, but at the same time he didn't want to disappoint his companions who had just demonstrated their confidence in him, and thanks to this he gave his all to try to find an adequate strategy.

However even almost a minute of trying everything proved to be in vain, and this made Gehard sigh regretfully and nod his head from side to side, answering Bella and Alesandro's questioning with a sad but sincere look, "I'll be honest with you, if I'm right our opponent will be Lord Arya himself, I don't even know what kind of Magic and combat style he uses and in this situation nothing I devise will be fully effective against his experience and power level. The only advantage we have in this fight is numbers, the only thing I'm sure of is that the only chance we have is if we work together..."

"The only way is to wear him down, attacking him relentlessly from all sides, we can't let him recover from one blow before applying another, so we might be able to open a gap and rip his rattles off. In this situation we also can't let him isolate and deal with us separately , otherwise it will be the end..." Getting a little closer to them, Gehard exposed the only idea he had, in his view this was the only way that even remotely could work, still expression on his face did not hide how small the possibility of success was .

Bella thought for a second of a plan that would work but nothing seems to be coming into mind that would work. She thought of the idea that Gehard proposed however she wasn't confident if this would pan out well. "But if we continue attacking him relentlessly, wouldn't that leave us vulnerable when he starts to attack and we're unable to defend ourselves," Bella pointed out placing her thumb and index finger under her chin, "we need to think of a more thought up tactic."

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm not any good with planning. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Alessandro said as he looked over to the other two. "My specialty is combat, face to face is best for me. I can go for days too, so use me to the best for your abilities."

Gehard sighed heavily and nodded his head from side to side when he heard Bella's answer, not because he was contradicted by her but because he was fully aware that she was right, even though he was the kind of person who was used to solve his problems with strategies that came easily to him and the fact that he couldn't come up with an adequate plan to deal with Arya only served to make more intense the frustration already present in him for the crushing defeat he had just suffered at the hands of Lowellmina, and this frustration and stress that carried Gehard's gaze and was increasingly evident in his gesticulation and facial expressions, was finally exposed clearly when he huffed and grumbled, "Yes, I know the plan is horrible, but the point is that we can't do any better, we don't even know if the Vice Captain is a medium to long range combatant like me or a short range combatant like Ale, we don't even know his magic skills and if one of our own can counter attack her effectively. The only ability I'm almost certain he possesses is one that allows him to control the encircled Mana, which allows him to deal with us without even drawing his grimoire, a technique that I don't know if he even has a weakness... the only certainty I have is that our victory in this one is impossible, we have no chance at all against Lord Arya unless a miracle happens..."

Although it was not even remotely his intention to make such a pessimistic speech, it was necessary, after all by putting all the stress and frustration out Gehard could breathe a sigh of relief and think clearly, and it was enough for him to reflect a little for a light to appear in his mind, "*It's impossible..., and someone with Lord Arya's experience knows that, he knows that we don't stand a chance of getting those rattles off him if he fights seriously...so there are only two choices, and either he would be willing to go easy on us, . no, with that personality it's definitely not possible...*" He then continued his reasoning and his eyes widened as the second hypothesis became clearer, he inevitably swallowed dryly as the ideals were assembling in his mind, "*...Yes, it is not something as simple as just testing our physical strength and magic, it is testing our determination, he wants to know if when we confront the impossibilities we will accept the challenge or run away with our tail between our legs...he wants to test whether or not we have the soul and commitment of a Magic Knight.*"

As Gehard concluded this he remembered how his father used to give speeches about what it was to be a true magical knight, speeches that made him want to be like Conrad, these epic and salty memories made determination fill his eyes again and he felt the mood again, he also realized how his words could put not only his future as a magical knight at stake, but also that of his companions and this made him immediately look for a way to correct this, but instead of looking for the most appropriate words, young Silva just let the will that took him by little guide him, saying, "...Even though it's impossible, we won't give up. After all, we didn't set out to become magical knights to give up without even trying at the first obstacle, right?"

Staring firmly into Bella's blue eyes, he added, "You're not willing to give up proving to the world that your Magic is good and can be used to protect people, or am I wrong? then pointing to Alessandro, "Mister Alessandro, you're not willing to shame your Master by running away either, or am I wrong?", and then pointing to himself with his thumb himself, Gehard finished, "Because even though it seems impossible to tear these rattles off this man, I'm not going to give up proving that I'm worthy of being Conrad's son, that I'm worthy of being a Silva. So even without a decent plan or a prospect of victory I'm going to try, and if I fail at least it won't be because I chickened out. And I ask you, are you with me?"

Out in the field, Vice-captain Arya tapped his foot impatiently. *"They should be here by now..."* He thought to himself, frowning. *"Perhaps this will get them moving."* Opening his grimoire, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the pages turned. They suddenly stopped as the Vice-captain opened his eyes behind his sunglasses. He outstretched his hand and grinned, knowing the rookies were in for a surprise.

Bella took a moment then sighed to herself. She knew at times she would doubt herself on her own magic but this time she needed to stop being who she was in the past and it was time for the new Bella show what she is capable of. "Y-Yes, I'm not ready to give up," Bella proclaimed but with a slightly shaky voice, "I'm not ready to back down! We can do this!"

## Hatch

At that moment a slight whooshing sound could be heard, one that was distinctively different from the wind that rushed around the perimeter of the base. Their Vice-captain had launched a huge rounded mint at them, a white boulder that could crush any one of them if no one detected it. Then again, if none of them could detect it then maybe they weren't even worthy of being a Magic Knight. The attack plummeted towards the rookies without remorse.

Alessandro'd eyes lit up, the nerves all over his body instinctively made the young man clutch the sword to his sword and draw his katana at a remarkable speed, using his own magic power to enhance the cutting power of his blade. The blade met and despite a half second of struggle, he slices his way through the massive mint!

"Phew! That sure came out of no where huh?" Alessandro asked as he looked back at his fellow rookies. "Look, I'm not one for plans, I'm not quite good at thinking in that regard. But I've never been the type to give up. I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself." He then gave the other two a thumbs up, I am Alessandro Salvatore, future Captain of the Coral Peacocks! So both of you, let's do this already."

Before he could continue his speech and answer Bella, Gehard's attention was stolen by the hissing noise of the huge mint, and he turned his eyes to the huge object, having stared at the situation with his eyes frozen, pulling his grimoire from the holder at that very moment, he pulled it close to him while the arcane book floated in mid-air, but while the leaves passed and Gerhard searched for the spell of ice wings that hours ago he had discovered, to defend himself and his companions.

Before he could do so, however before he could do so, the young Silva witnessed Alessandro's faster action, who forked the huge mint bullet with a powerful slash. Still he didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief, since the battle between the Novices and the Vice Captain of the Coral Peacocks had just begun, he was fully aware of the difficulty of that fight and knew that perhaps from such an impossible victory for them, that Arya's goal in proposing this was only to test the determination of the newly admitted magical knights, determination that Gehard had proven to exist in the words of Bella and Ale, in addition to his own, making himself of that will, aiming to keep it burning and intensify it the young man of royalty roared energetically:

"It has begun, people! Let's show him what we're made of! Let's go however, no rest and no retreat!"

His actions soon proved level and consistent with the momentum and energy his words carried, and that was the instant his grimoire stopped bellows and the air around Gehard filled with the mana expelled by the boy's body, which quickly turned into an icy air and clumped into several smaller points, transmuting into ice feathers as sharp as the most polished of daggers, some of them formed between the young Silva's own fingers like kunai, feathers he held firmly there. As he raised his arms, the tips of all the other blades pointed skyward, and as he shook his arms, the feathers tore through the air at full ascending speed before curving into a parabola and raining down on Arya's head like a rain of arrows shot from the top of a wall, without losing a knot of power.

"Ice Creation Magic: Ice Bird Feather Storm!"

Arya sighed as he watched the icy blades rain down towards him. Gehard had launched a counter-attack, though there was enough space between the rookies and the Vice-captain it seemed to prove as little more than a distraction while they approached him. His grimoire's pages fluttered as they turned, and the Vice-captain of the Floral Peacocks stretched his hand upwards. A thick rectangular platform comprised entirely of crystalline candy materialized above him; Like how an umbrella protected its owner from rain, the spell was specifically created to shelter him from attacks like this razor rain of daggers. Right before the attack made contact, Vice-captain Arya spoke calm and concisely:

"Crystal Candy Creation Magic: Candied Canopy."

The rain of icy blades slammed into the protection spell, shattering on impact as the rest of the daggers impaled the unprotected ground all around. "They'll have to do better than that if they want to succeed." Arya spoke to himself as he stepped out from under his defensive spell, shards of ice crunching under his feet. He ground his teeth in frustration. "Brute force and blind attacks won't be enough to combat an experienced opponent!" He shouted across the field to his rookies, "Not nearly enough! Now drag your asses over here so I can help you feel what it's like to be six feet under!"

And just like that, without a single drop of hesitation Alessandro quickly dashed forward! The sheer speed and resilience he had was impressive as it caused the captain watching the entire ordeal to smile. As Lucifer watched on he could feel his blood rush through him.

"I'm glad to see his training never did slow down." He said out loud, the sight before him was truly uplifting to see.

"I didn't know he knew how to use mana skin already." Ishtar comments as she watched on as well. "Quite impressive for the kid."

"Who said he was using mana skin?" Lucifer asked in a cheeky attitude.

"You don't mean..."

"Yup, he only made his sword sharper earlier but that's to be expected of someone who uses sword magic. Instead earlier it was his raw strength that helped him cut through the attack. What you see right now is his naturally trained speed. But..." He then paused. "Well, soon enough Ari will find out, why I recruited these kids specifically."

Alessandro quickly cut the distance and was approaching the Vice Captain! He then leapt up and aimed his sword down with a powerful slash!

Vice-captain Arya watched the newbie sprint towards him; his physical speed was impressive, but if all he had was strength and speed...Arya frowned. He reached out and turned the page of his grimoire, the pink light emanating from the book onto his skin as Ale jumped at him.

"Soda Pop Fountain." He spoke, eyes narrowly staring into Ale's as a rush of pressurized soda water blasted towards his airborne pupil at point-blank range.

Alessandro took the attack, being sent flying, but before he could go to far he twisted his body to make his body rotate and landed on the ground. "Figured a full frontal attack wouldn't work, but can't say it wasn't worth a try!" He said before taking off running again towards the Vice Captain, already prepared for his next attack!

Arya blasted another torrent of soda water at Ale, a extra-wide conical shot that would knock him off his feet. The Vice-captain was starting to get bored. *"If the rest of these kids don't show up I'm gonna get* really *pissed off."*

Bella immediately stepped in front of Ale as she looked towards the torrent of soda water. She wasn't going to turn back. This was her chance!

"**Blood Magic: Blood Shield!**" Bella shouted as she summoned a shield guarding her and Ale from the torrent using her blood to form the shield.

The stream of soda splashed into the shield, leaving a sticky mist hanging in the air for a moment as it spattered off its surface and pooled in the small craters left from Gehard's rain of ice-blades. The Vice-captain's eyes were hidden behind his glasses, light glaring off the lenses as his plan began to fall into place.

"**Scotch Mint Shower**." He spoke calmly, outstretching his palm as a hundred round mints the size of baseballs hurled towards the shield of scarlet. Arya didn't intend for this attack to breach the defensive spell; in fact, he believed the shield would be able to withstand the attack, if not just barely.

"Push forward! I'll block as many as a I can!" Alessandro ordered, as though a switch in him just clicked he was confidently calling orders, trying to bring the fight to the Vice Captain. "Hey! Gerhard! Give me some cover fire and aim for the vice captain. The quicker we close the distance the more effective we can be!"

Alessandro channelled his magic power to his blade causing it to glow. At face value this seemed quite a simple feat, though when looking deeper this technique was extremely similar to mana skin, a technique used by seasoned magic knights. He's transferring a large amount of his raw magic power to his blade but shapping the magic around his blade.

Meanwhile the captain smiled and even let out a small chuckle. "You know, I only have a few students that I have personally found interest in. While most were natural prodigies, Alessandro is the polar opposite." Lucifer then looked over at Ishtar.

"Then tell me, what was it that attracted you to this boy? He doesn't seem to special." Ishtar says. "He doesn't have the sheer magic power the Silva has, nor the magic affinity you were hoping a new recruit would have like Bella, nor the unique magic of the Judas boy." She then curiously cocked an eyebrow, "he's the boy you spent so much time grooming over the years, yet he doesn't stand out at all."

"Indeed he doesn't..." Lucifer replied, "but that's probably what caught my eye about him." He then smiled from ear to ear as he let out a loud laugh. "He's the definition of a waste of time, an idiot, a dull blade." Lucifer then let some of his magic power leak out from excitement, causing the base to shake. "He had no natural talent for magic control, wasn't blessed with a huge magic reserve or some city leveling magic not just that but his swordsmanship was laughable. Yet he never ceases to amaze me, always coming for some training even after being beaten. You know why? This is due to his extreme willpower and dedication. "Despite lacking talent, Alessandro has proved time and time again that he has a vast amount of untapped potential laying dormant within him, and it's that potential, that diamond in the rough I wish to bring out, no, I need to bring it out." Lucifer then remembers seeing the cuffs on his ankles and wrists. "Come on Arya, bring it out of him. I want to see it already."

Bella continued to have her blood shield on her as she followed behind Alessandro using as much of her energy to put into her shield. She felt herself getting exhausted but she needed to exert herself. "Keep going, now's not the time to turn back," Bella told herself as she exerted herself making the shield larger.

While Alessandro and Bella were doing their best, Gehard couldn't stand by, especially since he had motivated them to fight this almost lost fight, and he didn't, sneaking around the flanks as the young swordsman invested in Arya, Gehard couldn't take his eyes off the duo waiting for the opportunity to interfere, but no matter how hard he looked for an opening, they seemed almost non-existent, and inevitably he bit his lip and grumbled when he realized that the situation was proving to be as difficult as expected.

"Mr. Alessandro is right, we have a better chance against him at close range, but how am I going to get close, even when it comes to direct attacks, his stance barely presents openings, so this is the skill level of a veteran fighter."

However, as Arya's counterattack began on her companions and stopped no more, the young Silva finally saw the gap he wanted, as much dilemma as it added up invaded his mind should he move forward or back to protect Ale and Bella, however, before Gehard turned his back on the opportunity that presented itself the words of the girl with blood magic killed his hesitation , and with a fervent gleam in his purple eyes the young Silva ran with all his speed towards Arya, swinging his hitherto crossed arms he jerked with all his might throwing six of the eight daggers he held between his fingers into the top of the vice-captain's back.

Gehard knew very well that there was little chance that his sharp ice feathers could even hit his opponent, the young Silva decided not to rely on this attack as his only attempt, he applied the most basic form of his magic, Gehard created a surface layer of soft ice over his knees and threw himself on the ground, using the makeshift knee pads to reduce friction against the ground, The newly admitted magic knight, gliding at top speed making use of the momentum he had taken so far, held the pair of blades that remained parallel to each other with their tips in opposite directions, passing alongside his target, delivering a pair of slashes from below against Arya, one aimed at the abdomen, the point between the hip bone and the last rib, and the second aimed at the back of the knee joint.