➨ There was an eerie silence that passed between everyone. Ryha watched Mereoleona like he was anticipating her moves. Or for another... reason that you don't want to think about. But with the way his eyes are not shy, you would bet on that reason being right.

A surge of power made your blood run cold, and a light blue flame appeared on Ryha's forehead. That's when a third eye appeared on his forehead.

You took a step back, and that same eye locked its gaze onto you. Goosebumps ran up your skin and you cringed. "You are aware that it's a four vs. one, right?" Your voice echod throughout the empty tunnels.

Mereoleona huffed. "Bold of you to assume I'd let you fools get in my way. You're gonna stand back and watch me."

Asta's jaw dropped. "Seriously, why are we here then?!"

She glared a hole right through his head and Asta toned down immediately. "You're here because I chose you to be my teammates. However, right about now, you'll die if you try to get in my way."

But she's been taking the lead this whole time anyway.

"I'm not going to complain. Let's get good seats then." Zora turned on his heel and started walking the other way.

You followed, and Asta reluctantly fell into step beside you. The three of you chose a high tunnel entrance to stand back and... watch. If this was the role of a Royal Knight, then maybe you can get used to it.

"Can you believe this? We went through all that work during the tests just to be on the sidelines." Asta groaned as the two began fighting down below.

"Did you not hear a word she said?" Zora's tone held irritation. "If we were to help her, we would get in the way and be slaughtered. So if you want to be her next victim I say you go right ahead."

"Geez, I know that. But it still sucks!" He said back and crossed his arms stubbornly. "Is there anything else we can do?" He shut his eyes tightly and went into deep thought.

"There's nothing to think about." Zora glanced over. "We just have to sit tight."

"I got it!" Asta completely ignored him. "Y/N, you should use your puppets to scout out the rest of the tunnels! That way, when she's done here, we'll know which ways to go."

That actually wasn't a bad idea. So far you only found your way because of traps being laid out. As well as following the higher sources of mana. But seeing as you weren't currently doing anything at the moment, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

"Yeah, why not?" The entrance that three of you were standing at branched off into 4 separate passageways. You waved your hand out in front of you, summoning your grimoire.

Marionette Roulette.

The pages flipped, and you watched the ground, seeing who would come up this time. In a few seconds, there was a large shadow forming below you. Actually, that was the largest one you've seen in a while since you haven't summoned it for a bit.

"Well that's great." You murmured. "I had a 2 out of 3 chance to get one that was good for scouting. Just my luck that I didn't get either."

Zora's eyebrow raised. "I didn't know you had more than that nurse and gymnast thing."

"I have 3 in total. The Acrobat, Delicate Doctor, and..." You faded out as the third one rose from the abyss. Even taller than Zora when standing at full height. "...The Guardian Shield."

The Shield was the tallest puppet you had. Sylvania's head was probably right up to his chin for a comparison. He had the appearance of a regal statue. Body made of iron, with a full golden robe, and one armed cape flowing from the right side. The pieces were adorned with jewels such as emeralds and rubies. He also had a bronze laurel wreath adorned on his head.

"Woah." Asta's entire head was at a ninety degree angle just to see The Shield in all its glory. "Are you sure you're not some secret royal?!"

You shook your head. "Nope. Neither of my parents have royal blood." As far as you know at least.

Zora's lip curved downward. "This one doesn't even have a face."

He wasn't completely wrong. The Shield technically had 4 hands with just two arms. A pair of severed iron hands covered where the face of him should actually be. While the actual arms were functional.

"He's shy." You explained.

"It's like 7 feet tall. How can it be shy about anything?"

Asta lifted his arm and patted the puppet on its side. "Aw, it's okay. I'm sure you have a lovely face! Oh, did you give him a name, Y/N?"

Zora deadpanned. "It's not a dog."

"Aegis." You responded to his question.

"That's such a powerful name!" Asta exclaimed.

A loud explosion and rumble that nearly took you off your feet reminded you of the battle still going on behind you. Those two were going at it with no holding back. The space they were fighting in was starting to fall apart. The rocks hitting your head was proof of that.

"Alright, maybe you should start looking for an escape route." Zora pointed out.

You paused. "Yeah... I can't do that with him. He's covering his face, so I wouldn't be able to see anything anyway."

He mumbled something under his breath and you didn't ask him to repeat himself. It was fine though, Aegis can protect the three of you if things go wrong. Stray attacks should be blocked or deflected if he can time them right.

Mereoleona's punches were doing so much damage that you can feel the intensity of each impact from where you stood. At this rate, the fight would be over in moments. Rhya has nowhere else to run, she's got him cornered.

It was like watching fireworks explode repeatedly. A magnificent display of orange and reds mixing together. The three of you were stunned. This woman was incredibly powerful. Makes you think about why she's barely seen around the Crimson Lion Kings. Her and Fuegoleon together could be unstoppable.

Despite the immense heat exuding from her, your body went cold. Something didn't feel right. Ryha's mana did a complete 180 from what it was before. Now it was sinister, and cast a dark loomy aura over the battlefield.

"What's going on?" The words tumbled from your lips before you realized it. "I was sure she had him."

Asta gasped. "He's gonna do it too?"

"Do what?"

He didn't even turn around, his body frozen as well. "I've faced 2 other members of the Third Eye. Each time they did this weird self destruct thing when they were about to lose. And he's about to do the same thing!"

Zora's eyes widened just the slightest bit. "If he self-destructs in here we're all as good as dead. And I doubt that... Aegis, is gonna be able to withstand something like that."

Unfortunately, he was correct. There was absolutely no way a self-destruct spell would be countered. You don't think you had enough mana to reinforce him to defend anyone from that.

Mereoleona charged straight for Ryha though. Either not caring, or not knowing that if she connected her fist with that aura, she was going to die.

Before you could say anything else, Asta pulled his sword from his grimoire, and took off in a flash. You too, acted quickly. Mereoleona was far, but she wasn't completely out of your range to reach her and pull her back.

Zora must've caught on to what you were about to do and he made a sound that stopped you before you took the plunge as well. "Don't be stupid, do you think you can pull someone like her back?"

"I might as well try."

You took a step forward and slid down the rocky surface. From behind you, you heard a much less graceful fall. Aegis fell a lot faster, and hit the ground harder than you. Luckily he wasn't human, or that fall would've broken some bones.

Limb Manipulation.

Your strings appeared on Mereoleona's wrists, and that split moment made her hesitate long enough for Asta to cut through Rhya's instant death spell. It was a shock to you that she didn't immediately burn your strings right off her body. It was an even bigger shock when you had enough strength to pull her backwards even just an inch.

Asta sent Ryha back to the floor with a hard swing with his sword. Aegis stood in front of you, summoning a large iron shield that blocked the incoming debris from piercing your body.

Moments passed and another silence crept up on you. You withdrew Aegis from the battlefield and sighed. The puppet strings were now falling apart as Mereoleona must've figured out what happened. You let go just as she ignited them.

"Does she not care about lighting me ablaze?" You mumbled to yourself, flicking your hands and fanning the flames from them.

Just as you thought everything had calmed down, there was a crack, which sent more rocks falling from the ceiling. You blocked your head with your arms and looked up.

Only to see a pointed piece of the ceiling falling right towards your head. Your legs weren't quick to move, but you knew you had to. However, that impact never came.

Instead, a white magic circle was formed on top of you. The jagged stone was sucked up and then spit back out as a mixture of minerals. You turned your head to the source. The red head sliding down from the entrance of the tunnel.

"How many times am I gonna have to save your ass from certain death?"

"To my knowledge that was only the first time."

"Second." He corrected. "It was me who saved you from getting roasted by Mereoleona when you were cloned."

"Whatever." You decided to just give him that one little thing. He did just save you, so giving him credit is the very least you could do.

Zora stood next to you with a defeated expression. "This is something I definitely could've stayed home for. Not sure why I actually showed up."

If he wasn't belittling people, he was complaining. Something negative always had to come from his mouth. You could probably count the amount of positive things he's said on one hand. One finger even.

"Move out of my way." Mereoleona's voice boomed throughout the hollow space.

You weren't paying much attention to them, but when you looked over, it seemed that Asta was... trying to reason with the same man that just tried to blow him and everybody else to pieces.

"But I want to hear their side of the story. Why do the elves hate us so much? We should hear them out!"

"Do you think I want to hear the opinion of a fool who is part of the same group that ransacked the capital?" Her tone dropped. "Innocent lives were put on the line that day because of them. So whatever they have to say holds absolutely zero merit to me right now."

Asta gulped and his shoulders slumped. In a way, you saw where he was coming from, but after what just happened, you find it hard to really want to converse with Rhya or anyone else from the Eye of the Midnight Sun for that matter.

Ryha choked from where he was laying on the floor. "Like I'd tell you people anything anyway. You guys are so easy to manipulate and turn against each other. It's honestly incredible to see how far we've gotten."

Mereoleona laughed. "Says the man on the ground. Tried to blow us all up and couldn't even accomplish that. How pitiful."

"Don't you worry about that, my dear." He grinned. "We have so many more resources that you wouldn't even know where to begin with them. All it takes is one tug on your strings and we have you dancing the way we want you to."

One tug on your strings.

You didn't say anything, but your body went rigid.

"Enough talking." Mereoleona raised a fiery fist in the air. "I've let you say one too many final words."

Maybe you should turn around so you don't have to watch her turn somebody to ashes. But in a strange way you did want to see. Perhaps because these were the same people that caused half of the Magic Knights to pin you as a traitor. Had they just left the capital alone, nobody would suspect you of something so horrible.

Yeah, you'll watch.

Her hand burned brighter, and then suddenly, it was extinguished.

Mereoleona looked equally as confused, and was about to try again when Ryha's body started to emit a blinding glow. You shielded your eyes with one arm and instinctively, you summounded your grimoire. As did everyone else.

The hairs on the back of your neck stood straight up when you felt the drastic power increase. That wasn't the same as it was 5 seconds ago. He was beaten down, and on his last leg. How did a surge like that even happen?

"So what do we do now?" You moved your eyes back to the other three to see what the move was.

"Is he about to blow up again?" Zora grumbled and took a step back. "Why don't we– what the hell?"

You caught his gaze. "What is it now?"

"I don't know, you tell me." He gave you a weird twisted look. "Why are you... doing that?"

"Doing what?" You faced Asta and Mereoleona for a clearer answer. Although both of them gave you a similar look. "I was actually really good at staring contests, you know."

"Y/N." Asta pointed at you. "You're all... glowy."

"I'm what?" You looked down at your hands and sure enough a golden aura was exuding out of you. After you acknowledged it, you felt a warm tingle flow through you and a shining beacon shot from where you stood, up through the top of the cave.

"Woah woah woah, and you have weird red lines on your face!" Asta exclaimed. "Hey, what's the big idea?" He shouted at Rhya who looked more than pleased with the outcome.

"Oh, I didn't know it'd affect you too. How intriguing." He sneered at you.

Red lines.

And you're... glowing. How exciting.

"I don't know what this is." You said to them. "It just... I don't know! It just happened."

Mereoleona tilted her head to the side. "I knew there was something up with you, but I did not go this far."

"I swear I didn't do anything–" The words started to slur in your mouth. They fell into a jumble and your head went fuzzy. Your arm raised on its own and it felt like you were in a trance. The pages on your grimoire flipped.

But you weren't controlling your body at the moment. You were conscious and you knew what was happening, but you couldn't do anything to stop it.

...

An army of raging puppets spawned in and stormed forward. Although you would hope they were aimed at Rhya, they rampaged over your own team.

Something or someone had made you activate puppeteers' tempest without you being able to stop it. And it was way more powerful than it ever had been when you casted it. There were three times the amount of puppets than there should be.

The annoying ensemble did some minor damage. Scratching and biting Mereoleona, Zora and Asta. Asta was able to cut through them with his sword, and Mereoleona could hold her own clearly. With Zora, he was trying to evade, but when that didn't work, he was using his trap magic to shield himself.

Ryha chuckled. "Puppet magic is a wondrous thing, isn't it?"

Mereoleona seemed conflicted, but that blaze in her eyes wasn't wavering. "I don't think I'd feel too good if I knocked the lights out of a Golden Dawn member. If she's even still really there that is. If not, I won't feel a thing."

When the tempest was nearing its end, you felt control coming back into your body. Your vision wasn't fogging up, and you could move again. You let out a breath. Then you were hyperventilating. You damn near suffocated under that pressure.

"I'm sorry." You coughed. "That wasn't me."

"Looked a whole lot like you just attacked us." Zora narrowed his gaze down.

"I'd attack you any day of the week, but do you really think I'd willingly throw an attack at Asta and Mereoleona?"

Asta stepped in front of you. "But if that wasn't you then who was it?"

Ryha stepped into the conversation. "Our reincarnations. Not sure why she's fighting it though. You'd be so much happier if you just gave your body to another one of my people." Then he paused and his brows raised. "Oh... unless you're not intentionally fighting it. You might be different."

"Different how?"

He leaned forward. Resting his elbows on his knees from where he sat. "Maybe there's something so terrifying inside of you that not even an elf wants to inhabit you."