Strange use of Magic (Black Clover AU)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Raia looked at the incoming Magic Knight Captains, then turned to Vetto, who was pressed against the wall by Stephen. Shifting his gaze to Fana, he saw smoke billowing from her direction. 'We're at a disadvantage. These human mages are more bothersome than we expected... It's best to withdraw.'

A portal appeared beneath both him and Vetto simultaneously.

Stephen's head snapped toward Vetto, and he threw an Eldritch whip toward him as they disappeared into the portal. However, the portal severed the whip as it closed, causing Stephen to click his tongue in frustration.

He immediately grabbed his sling and looked toward where Vetto and Raia had reappeared—right next to Fana and Licht. Salamander had shrunk down due to his injuries, while another portal opened beneath Valtos, regrouping all of them together.

Seeing this, Stephen quickly conjured a portal and followed after them.

Raia, sensing the incoming energy, widened his eyes in surprise. He watched as Stephen emerged through his portal, hands outstretched, conjuring two magic circles from which beams of mystical energy formed.

What frightened Raia most was Stephen's expression—or lack thereof. His face was completely void of emotion, but his eyes carried a terrifying intensity.

Reacting swiftly, Raia touched Vetto's grimoire and cast one of his spells.

[Beast Magic: Rhinoceros Armor]

The rhinoceros armor enveloped all of them, shielding them from Stephen's mystic blast, which exploded in a brilliant orange-yellow eruption.

Stephen twisted the magic circle in his hands, amplifying the power of the blast, causing the explosion to intensify. The rhinoceros armor cracked under the force, shattering moments later and giving way to an enormous orange detonation.

Through the smoke, Jack the Ripper emerged, followed by Nozel from one side and Charlotte from the other.

Jack suddenly sprouted green blades from his forearms and used his severing magic to cut through the explosion, dispersing it. However, as the smoke cleared, it revealed that Raia and the others had already teleported away.

Nozel and Charlotte froze, while Jack scratched his head. "Look what you did—you let them get away," he said, eyeing Stephen with disappointment.

"I LET THEM GET AWAY?! IF YOU HADN'T SHOWN YOUR UGLY MUG, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE RUN!" Stephen retorted angrily.

A green portal opened before them, and Yami appeared with reinforcements in tow.

"Grandpa over here is right," Yami said, ruffling his hair and exhaling smoke. "We had them; your help was really unnecessary."

"We merely responded to the call for reinforcements," Nozel said flatly.

Meanwhile, Asta grinned proudly. "I say, since we sent them running with their tails between their legs, it counts as a victory! Huzzah!"

Noelle rolled her eyes. "That's one way to look at it, but I'm not sure someone else feels the same." She motioned toward Stephen, who looked irritated.

Stephen sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair to slick it back. "I'm going back to the base," he muttered, raising his hands to conjure a portal.

"Wait a minute..." Gauche called out, as a small spark ignited in front of Stephen.

Stephen paused and looked back, confused. "Yeah?"

"You're a doctor, right? Then I'd like to ask you for a favor..." Gauche said with a serious expression.

---

Later, Stephen sat in a room full of children, smiling warmly as he held their hands. "There, your magic power should return to normal."

A nun, Sister Theresa, watched him with gratitude. "Thank you. I suspected that, since their magic was forcefully extracted, they'd never be able to use it again."

Stephen stood up and ruffled a child's hair as they thanked him. "I'm just glad I could help."

Sister Theresa chuckled. "Sister Lily was right about you—you're good with children."

"You know Sister Lily?" Stephen asked with a faint smile.

"But of course. Before she became a nun, she trained at this church. When she visited us recently, she mentioned you, Asta, and Yuno. She spoke about how hardworking you were and how you always helped take care of the other children."

Stephen chuckled and shook his head. "Don't tell Asta Sister Lily talked about him. He might get too excited."

"Too late..." Sister Theresa said with a wary smirk, prompting them both to laugh.

"I HATE YOU!"

Stephen and Theresa exchanged confused looks as they heard Marie shouting. Rushing to investigate, they found Gauche on the ground, looking utterly defeated, as if his entire world had crumbled.

Marie stood before him, arms crossed, pouting heavily.

Gauche glared at Stephen with hatred in his eyes. "This is all your fault! My Marie hates me because of you. Bringing you here was a mistake—you must be eliminated!"

"What did I do? You're the one who asked me to come!" Stephen said, bewildered.

"What did he do this time?" Theresa asked, turning to Marie.

Marie huffed. "I told him I was going to marry Stephen when I grew up, but he said he'd murder him before that could happen. He even forbade me from saying goodbye to him before he left!"

"Eh, what?" Stephen muttered, his face turning awkward.

…

Back in the Black Bulls Base (A/N: Say that five times fast): 

An orange portal materialized, and out stepped Stephen, waving behind him. "I'll be sure to visit, don't worry," he said as the portal closed behind him.

The group sitting around looked on with confused expressions as Stephen carried an unconscious Gauche slung over his shoulder.

"Why is Gauche unconscious? I thought he only needed your help at the orphanage," Noelle asked from her seat beside Wanda.

Stephen walked over to an empty couch and deposited Gauche onto it unceremoniously. "He tried to kill me," Stephen replied flatly.

"Anyway, I'll be in my room. Only call me if it's an emergency," he added before turning and walking away.

Vanessa, slightly buzzed, glanced at the others in confusion. "Why's Stephen in such a bad mood? I don't think I've ever seen him like that before."

Noelle and Wanda both shrugged, equally perplexed.

---

When Stephen arrived in his room, he let out a heavy sigh. Nero fluttered off his shoulder, landing on the bed and bouncing slightly.

"You want to meet in the library?" Stephen asked. Nero nodded rapidly.

"Alright." Stephen sat on the bed, and Nero flew to his lap. He retrieved his grimoire from the mirror dimension, flipping it open.

---

In the library, Stephen leaned back in his reading table, arms loosely crossed. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice calm but distant.

Secre, stood across from him, studied his face. "Before I say what I need to, what's going on with you?" she asked, her expression concerned.

Stephen shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Stephen…" Secre pressed gently, her tone soft but firm.

Stephen clicked his tongue, running a hand through his hair and fiddling with the white streak to calm himself. "It's that Vetto guy… He pissed me off more than I'd like to admit."

"Vetto? Is it about him accusing you of hiding 'a beast' inside you or pretending to be weak? He was probably just trying to get under your skin," Secre said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Stephen exhaled deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not entirely nonsense... I know what he's talking about."

"What? Do you really have some kind of ancient beast inside you or something?" Secre asked, startled.

Stephen chuckled and shook his head. "No, it's not literal."

"Wait, so you do pretend to be weak?" Secre blinked, taken aback.

Stephen sighed again. "It's not pretending... but I do hold back. Quite a lot."

"Why?" Secre asked, visibly confused.

"Promise you won't laugh," Stephen muttered, a bit embarrassed.

"I promise," Secre said, her expression serious.

Stephen hesitated, then finally spoke. "You see with my magic there's no need to get up all close and personal, long distance battling should be my specialty. However I simply love the feeling of getting up and personal with someone, the feeling of my fist hitting against someone's flesh, the danger, the potential of getting hurt, or worse dying. I simply love the exhilaration it brings me, it's a feeling I just can't really describe. 

However that feeling honestly scares me a bit, it's not that I enjoy hurting people, I just really love battling, I love seeing the things I'm able to do with my magic against other people. However I'm sometimes scared that if I use too much power on someone and accidentally kill them I would end up enjoying it as well and become someone else entirely. So I restrain myself, I hold myself back. 

And having someone realize and point out the part of me that's holding back and restraining myself from giving into the love of battling, pisses me off. It's like they can see a side of me I try to hide away from everyone, If that makes sense…"

Secre stared at him, her expression softening. Without a word, she leaned forward and hugged him. "I might not fully understand what you're feeling, but I know this—you're no beast. You won't become someone who enjoys killing. You're a doctor, Stephen. You've chosen to dedicate your life to helping people, even if you don't realize it, someone that enjoys killing wouldn't have done that. And there's nothing wrong with loving to fight. That's perfectly normal. You don't have to be afraid."

Stephen let out a shaky breath, looking down at Secre. He cupped her face, pulling her into a deep, lingering kiss. The tension in his chest eased slightly.

"Alright," he said softly, pulling back. "Enough about me. What did you want to tell me?"

Secre's expression turned serious as she leaned back. "I've realized what the Midnight Sun is planning and what their true goals are. And... I've also figured out who they truly are." She paused, her tone growing heavy. "Thanks to that, I now understand why your last name—Strange—felt so familiar."

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