Finral leaned over Yami's body trying his best to keep his internal organs in as he slowly bled out. Luck was still unconscious, so was Charmy, Gordon, Grey and Gauche. They were all either dying or close to.
Finral on the other hand was still somewhat alright as he focused more on support than direct combat, only a long scar above his forehead told the story of his narrow escape through a portal just before the Dark priest's attack came.
Now here he was, surrounded by his gravely injured comrades trying to save their leader from meeting the same fate as Magna.
Yami used his last strength to grip Finral's hand and gave his final orders,
"Watch over the gang for me, will ya. I don't think I am making it out of this one"
Finral's lips twitched as he tried to hold himself together.
"Mister Yami, wait okay, we'll find…"
But Yami interrupted him once more,
"Just do as I say you weakling."
Finral stuttered after these words were said. Yami reached out his remaining hand, it glowed with a flowing pitch black hue making his katana fly over to him.
He whispered something over it,
"Dark Magic: Final rites- Spiritual succession and the Warrior's Legacy"
Then gave the blade to Finral, as the quivering boy received it. A Massive surge of the Pitch Black hue flowed from Yami into the sword flowed with a small ball of light and Yami's final words.
"See ya"
The Captain of the Black bulls met his end, his body forever cold and inanimate. Finral heard Vanessa call out behind him,
"Yami… Captain Yami.."
As she crawled with one leg while the other remained limp. Seeing her struggle, Finral felt tears fall down his eyes and Vanessa seeing these understood what had happened.
Her eyes narrowed as she crawled over to Finral and wrapped him in a hug.
"It's okay"
She whispered, trying to comfort Finral who simply replied with conviction,
"We need to find Asta and Noelle fast"
As he said this, his grimoire glowed, opening it's pages to the nearest blank one where a new spell slowly appeared.
"Spatial Magic: Heart of the Angel's Beating wings"
Luck walked towards them, now fully awake and healed. It appeared that he also had an awakening as the wounds on his reattached limbs rapidly sewed shut, emitting lightning as they did.
Once completed, purple threads used to keep them together, slowly vanished. Vanessa's work.
With perfect understanding, they all nodded to each other knowing what needed to be done. Finral studied the spell before performing it, the whole landscape appeared within his mind. Every little detail, from the subtle air currents to the tiniest bug was made known to him. But focused his will on one thing, Asta and Noelle, allowing the spell to lock on them.
Before he could only go places he had been or could see but now with this spell, he could lock onto any area without first being there and even use the spell as reconnaissance finding out everything about the enemy. Their Magic level, their physical features and their number, all were exposed to him.
A Throbbing heartbeat echoed in his mind, that was his. As he focused he also felt Asta's, then Noelle's which was extremely weak. He began the spell, Grey woke up just in time to watch them disappear in a burst of green light.
She looked around, taking in the scene before her where the bodies of her comrades piled. She went to Yami's and shut his eyes, then to Gauche where she put her palm over his mouth to sense his breath. He was still alive but his breath was getting weaker.
The Shock of everything that happened had done something to her, all her emotions felt distant leaving her enshrouded in a deep numbness that seemed to permeate every aspect of her and wouldn't disperse no matter how hard she tried. Thus even when she wanted to cry and shout, she couldn't, only observe and figuring out her place within these events.
She analysed his injuries before opening her grimoire, leafing through it then deciding to act. Laying her hand on an open gash on Gauche's chest, a wave of blue energy carrying with it a soothing feeling washed over the almost dead Gauche causing his wounds to disappear completely and his body to be fully restored to its prime state.
He opened his eyes only to meet the most stoic monotonous look he had ever seen worn by the someone who should be rife with emotions ranging from blushing all the way to outright breakdowns over the most littlest things. He met Grey's face.
"I did the best I could to heal you"
Grey spoke to Gauche who admired his now perfectly healed body even his mana was back to full strength.
"How did you do it?"
With a cold analysis, Grey explained
"I simply used transformation magic to transform you into the most healthy version of you I know"
"What type of spell is that?"
Grey commanded her grimoire to open showing him plainly,
"Transformation Magic: Transfiguration of the Fallen"
Gauche stood up and together they gathered all everyone. About to heal everyone, Grey hit a wall,
"My Mana is only enough for two more, then that's it"
All that was left was Charmy, Magna and Gordon.
"Use it on Magna first"
The Spell reverted his body back to normal but it still didn't move only stare and breath without thought or action. He was still dead only his body was back to normal functioning, so they went on with Charmy.
The Little woman looked around the Battle site seeing Yami' body on the ground and the others missing. She turned to the two for answers,
"Yami has passed on. Luck, Vanessa and Finral went to save Asta and Noelle"
Charmy stared in shock for awhile before standing up with a serious look ready to take charge over the well being of her junior comrades. Sensing the change in her air, the two knew that she was ready to assume responsibility and stood at her service. Charmy brought out a strawberry which she infused with a spell that made it glitter with fireworks before handing it to Grey.
'Food magic: Everlasting sustenance'
"It will regenerate your Mana. Help Gordon"
Grey nodded, both their cold faces matched each others leaving Gauche utterly dumbfounded at this unprecedented change but relieved that they were stronger and simultaneously sad at how it came to be.
Right at that moment, Asta hung before the dark priest and his soldiers on a makeshift cross, with burns and deep gashes all over. The most were the two of his hands, nailed to the arms of the cross with large nails crafted from a black metal. This was meant to both confine him and reduce his attack power by destroying his most prominent weapon, his abnormally strong hands which nearly killed on of the soldiers during his earlier rampage.
"Behold our saviour, hanging over this sinful world ready to be sacrificed in atonement for it's sins"
The Priest recited this verse with gleeful reverence even when his insidious actions told a different story.
The Soldiers behind him went on guard, the hooded one wearing a serpent shaped pendant reported,
"Their Spatial Magic user is approaching, Lord Yules"
The Priest now identified as Yules gave his order,
"Intercept them until I find the book. It wasn't in the royal vault so it has to be with this interesting young lad"
"Yes, My Lord"
All the seven hooded men entered through a portal the one who wore a serpent pendant made. Appearing a mile away, where the Spatial mage cast a barrier spell over the land to protect Yules as he interrogated Asta.
"Spatial Magic: Spectral Film"
In the middle of the spell, a Katana pierced his chest and Finral appeared alone in a burst of light. Another of the hooded men launched towards Finral with a fist covered in a writhing green film.
"Curse Magic: Decaying grasp"
But something hit him in a blaze of lightning and thunder before an extremely thin thread wrapped around the necks of the remaining. Vanessa came forward and with a hand movement downward, all the threads sliced through their necks as their heads dropped to the ground.
The one still impaled by Finral, waved backwards trying to hit Finral but ended up making him dodge before slicing the blade through the incision point then across his side- a semi half slice.
He fell to the ground, coughing up blood. Finral stood over him ready to unleash his final strike but the man used a spell to summon several pairs of hands which grabbed at Finral's legs but he teleported away in time.
The Man stood up as a Black film spread from the ground over a one mile radius enclosing Yules and Asta in a protective sheet. He chuckled as he took off his serpent shaped pendant and ate it causing thick scales to spread across his body as his eyes shifted to serpentine slits.
His body contorted, expanding and reforming into a growing image of a snake but stopped midway leaving his lower body normal and his upper body completely transformed into a long black snake whose length reached over twelve meters.
He was about to say something when a heavy blow carrying tremendous force hit his head, tossing him away in a wave of lightning and thunder.
Luck's cheerful voice echoed in the aftermath,
"Lightning Creation Magic: Lightning thief".