Strange use of Magic (Black Clover AU)

[Third Person's PoV] 

"Good work—no, excellent work!" Julius said with a grateful and satisfied nod. "You Black Bulls have gone above and beyond what was asked of you."

"You've probably already heard, but… there were heavy casualties among the Magic Knights who fought at Raquey. This should help them rest in peace," he continued. "The Black Bulls carried out this crucial mission successfully without losing a single member. Truly brilliant."

Julius then turned to Yami with a warm smile. "You've really become an exceptional Magic Knight Captain, Yami."

Yami scratched the back of his head, his face impassive. "Uh, I'm already 28. You're embarrassing me—knock it off."

"You're right, you're right. Sorry, sorry," Julius began, but was cut off by Stephen.

"Damn! Really?! 28? I thought you were older!" Stephen exclaimed, surprised.

Yami's hand shot out, gripping Stephen's face with an iron hold, veins popping on his arm and forehead. "What was that, punk? Do you seriously have a death wish? I don't want to hear anything about age from someone whose hair is already turning white."

"Ah! I'm sorry! You're still extremely young and in your prime! I was mistaken!" Stephen yelped, trying unsuccessfully to pry Yami's hand from his face. "How strong is your grip?!"

Julius chuckled at the sight, clearly amused. Seeing this, Yami released Stephen with a scoff before turning his focus back to the Wizard King.

"'If you want to say you're right, then prove it with the results you get from doing things your way,'" Yami said, quoting Julius. Ignoring Stephen, who was now massaging his cheeks, Yami continued, "Like I said earlier, all I did was prove you were right. And these guys proved that I was right."

Standing behind the others, Yami placed a hand on Asta and Stephen's shoulders. Charmy stood contentedly between them, munching on a large loaf of bread.

Julius smiled warmly at the rest of the Black Bulls. He stepped forward, placing a hand on Asta's shoulder. "Asta, you've racked up another achievement, which means you're one step closer to becoming the Wizard King. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next."

"Yessir!!!" Asta shouted, his face turning red.

Then, as if realizing something, Asta's cheeks darkened further. "Uh, um… Ahh, Wizard K-King sir, I-I have one r-request…" he stuttered, looking flustered.

Stephen glanced at him oddly, while Julius raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What is it?"

"MAY I PLEASE HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH, SIR?!" Asta bellowed, his voice loud and eager.

Julius blinked in disbelief, while Yami grabbed a quill from Julius's desk. "Sure, let me write it. On your face."

"Gyaaaah! Nooooo!!" Asta screamed, stumbling back several steps as Yami pursued him with the quill.

Julius chuckled at the chaos before turning his attention to Stephen. "Although I may not know where your ambitions lie, I do know this: at the speed you're growing and racking up achievements, you'll succeed in whatever you set your sights on."

"Thank you, sir," Stephen said with a polite bow.

Grunts and protests drew their attention back to Asta and Yami. The captain had pinned Asta, the quill poised to strike.

"By the way, Yami," Julius called out, holding Charmy up by her arms as if inspecting her, "is this your daughter? When did you have a child this big?"

Yami turned, his annoyance briefly replaced by incredulity as he saw Charmy dangling in the air, 

"Gimme something yummy," Charmy squeaked out, holding up her empty hands.

Before anyone could respond, a holographic projection appeared behind Julius.

"My apologies for interrupting, Wizard King!" Marx's voice rang out urgently.

"What is it, Marx?" Julius asked calmly, turning to face the projection.

"The town of Kiten, near the border! It's been the site of skirmishes with the Diamond Kingdom before, and it's now under attack by a Diamond unit!" Marx reported rapidly.

Yami's expression grew serious, while Julius muttered, "At a time like this…?"

"I'm transmitting footage from the site via Transmission Magic," Marx added, as the projection in front of them began to flicker.

The image stabilized, revealing an army of mages. Some were flying through the skies atop magical constructs, while others charged on the ground, their expressions twisted with a crazed intensity.

"WHAT IS UP WITH THIS HORDE?!" Asta exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief.

Marx continued his report, overlaying additional images of the chaos in Kiten. "The Magic Knights guarding the town have been nearly wiped out!"

Julius narrowed his eyes, studying the information before him. "This isn't their usual harassment. The ones leading this assault are… three of the Eight Shining Generals."

"EIGHT SHINING GENERALS?!" Asta yelled, "WHAT ARE THOSE?!"

"I take it they're like the Magic Knight Captains of the Diamond Kingdom?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yami nodded grimly. "You'd be right. They're the Diamond Kingdom's strongest mages."

Marx's face reappeared in the projection, his tone more urgent. "This is bad! Kiten is the heart of our border defense. If it falls, it'll make it far easier for the Diamond Kingdom to invade!"

"Huh?!?" Marx suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"What?! What is it, mushroomhead?!" Yami snapped impatiently.

"It's them again! Over the past few years, they've been the first on the scene at every national crisis, and their overwhelming success has earned them the position of the top brigade—The Golden Dawn!"

"YUNO?!?!" Asta shouted, recognizing the name instantly.

"My meal-saving prince!" Charmy squealed at the same time, her cheeks flushed as she stared dreamily at Yuno.

Stephen, meanwhile, said nothing, his gaze quietly settling on Mimosa among the Golden Dawn lineup. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Are they going to be alright by themselves down there?" Asta asked worriedly. "I mean, they don't have their Magic Knight Captain, right? He's still missing, isn't he?"

As Asta spoke, they watched the projection. Yuno floated down from the sky calmly, the wind spirit Sylph hovering beside him. His demeanor radiated confidence, unshaken by the chaos around him.

Yuno descended directly into the path of one of the Eight Shining Generals, a wild-looking mage riding a massive clay boar that was rampaging through the town, destroying buildings and scattering terrified civilians.

The Shining General cackled maniacally, urging his monstrous construct forward, ignoring the chaos he caused.

Yuno, with his grimoire hovering before him, didn't flinch. He calmly unleashed a piercing tornado that tore through the clay boar in a single strike. The construct shattered into crimson fragments, and a cloud of dust billowed upward as the ground shook from the impact.

The wind spirit, Sylph, floated beside Yuno, seemingly speaking in a haughty tone. Yuno remained indifferent.

"That's the wind spirit?!" Julius exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "I have to see it in person!"

Realizing he was letting his enthusiasm show at an inappropriate time, Julius coughed into his fist and straightened up. He turned to Asta with a smile.

"To answer your earlier question, as you can see, the Golden Dawn is a highly skilled and well-organized brigade. They're more than capable of operating without their captain. It seems Vengeance has trained them well."

Julius then placed a thoughtful hand on his chin. "That said… these are the Three Shining Generals we're talking about—not to mention their troops. While the Golden Dawn is holding their own, I'd feel better sending reinforcements. But as for who can go right away…"

"Want me to go, Julius? I'm pretty sure Finral's been to that town before," Yami offered with a smirk.

Julius looked relieved. "That would be a huge help, Yami. I can't afford to leave myself—this could be a diversion, and besides, the King is here."

"Captain, can we come too?!" Asta asked, practically bouncing with excitement. Stephen, standing beside him, looked equally eager.

Yami chuckled. "That was the plan. Consider this more hands-on experience for the both of you."

Yami then turned to Stephen. "Go get Finral."

Stephen gave a quick nod and made a swirling motion to his side, summoning a portal.

On the other side of the portal, Finral was leaning casually against a wall, arm outstretched toward a stunned woman. "Your eyes shine as brightly as the su—AHHHHH!!!" Finral's smooth-talking came to an abrupt end as Stephen reached through the portal, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and yanked him through.

"Eh?" Finral blinked in confusion, suddenly standing in the midst of everyone. "What's going on?"

"We're going to war!" Stephen said excitedly, a grin spreading across his face.

"But my break…" Finral whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes.

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