Strange use of Magic (Black Clover AU)

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Fana delicately tended to Licht's wounds, her magic flickering like a soft flame, she noticed his hand twitch. Slowly, Licht raised his trembling fingers, his lips moving ever so slightly. His voice, a faint murmur, carried words that only the closest to him could hear. His hand pointed toward Stephen's general direction.

The atmosphere shifted. The tension was palpable.

Vetto's head snapped around, followed by Fana and Raia, their gazes locking on Stephen. Confusion furrowed Stephen's brows as he glanced between them.

"You!" Vetto roared, his voice a thunderous howl that reverberated like a primal force through the air. His eyes blazed with fury as he took a step forward. "Why do you have that!?"

"Have what?" Stephen replied, narrowing his eyes. His tone was calm but laced with suspicion. The others exchanged puzzled looks, equally baffled by Vetto's sudden outburst.

Raia moved at the speed of light, materializing before Stephen with uncharacteristic seriousness. His normally aloof demeanor had been replaced by an intense focus as he reached out toward the amulet hanging around Stephen's neck—the Eye of Agamotto.

Stephen hesitated, intending to let Raia touch it and activate the amulet's protective spell. But before their confrontation could escalate, a sharp voice cut through the tension.

"Oi!"

A blur of motion.

Asta appeared between them like a streak of lightning, his sword slashing in an arc toward Raia. The collision of steel rang out, and Raia staggered back, his eyes widening in shock.

'What strength…' Raia thought, steadying himself, his grip tightening on his blade.

Stephen blinked at Asta in bewilderment. "What are you doing?" he asked, his tone almost bewildered.

"Obviously protecting you and your weird eye-thingy-majiggy!" Asta declared, his voice brimming with indignation. "You were just gonna let him take it! That's probably some kind of family heirloom, right? Learn to take better care of your stuff!"

Stephen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I wasn't going to let him take it," he said dryly. "And for the record, I don't need protection."

Before Stephen could argue further, Raia regrouped, his hand resting on the hilt of his katana.

[Dark Magic: Dark Cloak - Limitless Slash]

A black crescent of energy erupted from Raia's blade, hurtling toward Asta. Undeterred, Asta swung his anti-magic sword, slicing the dark energy apart with ease.

Watching from a distance, Yami smirked, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Hey, you bastard!" he yelled at Raia, his tone equal parts irritated and amused. "You trying to get sued for copyright? Don't go using my moves!"

Meanwhile, Stephen's attention remained on Vetto. The beastman's eyes gleamed with primal rage as he suddenly blurred into motion, claws raised.

[Arcane Magic: Dark Wing]

Stephen dissipated into a swarm of ravens just as Vetto's claws slashed through where he had stood. Reforming behind the beastman, Stephen's hands crackled with vibrant electricity.

[Arcane Magic: Bolt of Balthakk]

Bright arcs of eldritch energy surged toward Vetto, who jumped to dodge and twisted mid-air to face the oncoming bolts.

[Beast Magic: Bear Claw]

A ferocious roar tore through the battlefield as glowing, orange aura-claws enveloped Vetto's arms. With savage precision, he slashed apart the incoming bolts, laughing maniacally. "Hahahaha! Is that all you've got?"

[Beast Magic: Cheetah Charge]

Vetto vanished in a blur of speed, reappearing just inches from Stephen. His enhanced fist collided with Stephen's hastily conjured shield.

[Arcane Magic: Shield of the Seraphim]

The impact rang like a gong, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. Stephen gritted his teeth as Vetto leaned into the shield, his face twisting into a feral grin.

"I'm really starting to dislike you," Vetto growled.

"Because I hurt your friend?" Stephen taunted, his voice calm yet mocking.

"That's part of it," Vetto admitted, his punches raining down on the shield like cannon fire. "But mainly…" He sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I smell a beast in hiding. And what I hate most is a beast pretending to be weak to fit in."

Stephen sighed, exasperated. "What the hell are you even talking about… Why am I entertaining this nonsense?" He flew upward, putting distance between them.

Both hands formed an intricate pattern of gestures, golden light tracing his movements. Magic circles materialized around him, pulsating with power.

[Arcane Magic: Mystic Storm]

Bolts of arcane lightning rained down, tearing through the battlefield. The ground exploded wherever they struck, the sheer force shaking the air itself.

Vetto's aura flared as he summoned another spell.

[Beast Magic: Rhinoceros Armor]

A shimmering, translucent rhino-shaped aura encased him, bracing against the assault. But Stephen's hands twitched, amplifying the bolts' intensity.

The armor cracked. Then shattered.

A final surge of power struck Vetto directly, unleashing an explosion of light and sound that shook the earth. When the dust settled, Vetto was kneeling, his body battered and smoking. The ground beneath him had turned to molten slag, evidence of the spell's devastating power.

Despite the damage, Vetto smirked through gritted teeth, his voice a low growl. "Not bad… But don't think this is over."

"I'm surprised you're still standing," Stephen remarked, narrowing his eyes as he studied Vetto. There was something unsettling about the way Vetto spoke—something that gnawed at Stephen's thoughts—but he decided to keep his concerns to himself for now.

Vetto let out a deep, guttural laugh as he pushed himself upright, rolling his shoulders with an audible crack. "I'm far more durable and resilient than I look," he said with a sly grin, his voice dripping with confidence. He cracked his neck, the sound echoing in the cavern. "So, when are you going to stop holding back?"

Stephen didn't reply. His sharp eyes darkened, glaring at Vetto with an intensity that could cut through steel. The silence spoke louder than words, and the air between them grew thick with tension.

Vetto crouched low, his muscles coiling like a spring. Then, in a sudden burst, he became a distorted blur, moving so fast that the air seemed to ripple around him. Before Stephen could react—before he could even raise another magical shield—Vetto's fist connected with his stomach.

The impact was devastating. Stephen's breath left him in a violent rush, spit flying from his mouth as his body doubled over. He was launched backward like a missile, the force creating concentric shockwaves in the air. He crashed into the cavern wall with a thunderous boom, embedding deep into the rock as cracks spider-webbed out from the point of impact.

For a moment, there was only silence, save for the faint sound of crumbling debris. Luckily, Stephen's instincts had kicked in at the last second, reinforcing his body with magic to absorb the worst of the blow. He pushed himself out of the wall, pieces of shattered stone falling around him, and straightened up with an irritated grimace.

Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, he ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back with a slow, deliberate motion. "He's really starting to piss me off," Stephen muttered under his breath, his voice a low growl of annoyance.

He exhaled sharply, then snapped his fingers. The world around him seemed to grind to a halt. Time itself didn't freeze, but everything slowed to a crawl. Green magical circles flickered to life around his wrists, glowing with an ethereal light. In this heightened state of perception, Stephen could see Vetto's form frozen mid-lunge, his claws extended toward Stephen with a feral grin plastered across his face.

[Time Magic: Temporal Velocity]

Stephen moved faster than the eye could follow. In an instant, he was gone from the wall. Vetto's claws smashed into the stone where Stephen had just been, creating jagged fissures before the entire section of the wall exploded outward in a cloud of rubble and dust.

Vetto's grin faltered as he realized Stephen was no longer there. He began to scan the cavern, but before he could react, the air around him seemed to erupt. He felt the impact of what seemed like a hundred punches landing on a single spot on his torso. The force was so immense that blood erupted from his mouth, and he was sent flying backward like a ragdoll, tearing through the air with a deafening boom as the sound barrier broke.

Stephen appeared above Vetto as he was still flying through, still moving as a blurred distortion. His fist cocked back, glowing faintly with green energy, and with a downward strike, he slammed Vetto into the ground. The force of the impact split the earth, creating a deep crater and shaking the entire cavern like an earthquake.

Stephen had picked up Vetto's body and hung him in midair for what seemed like an eternity to Stephen. In the blink of an eye, fist-shaped indentations began appearing all over his torso and arms as Stephen's attacks rained down in a relentless onslaught. The sheer speed made it look as though Vetto was being held aloft by an invisible force.

See Vettos go flying off again Stephen was not content to stop. Stephen reached forward and grabbed Vetto by the face. His green time magic surged around them, and in an instant, they vanished. They reappeared a millisecond later, with Stephen driving Vetto's head into the very opposite wall where he had been thrown earlier.

Stephen had used his [Time Magic] to travel through time and arrived at the time Vetto's was supposed arrive and smash against the wall.

The wall groaned under the pressure before giving way, chunks of stone collapsing around them as Stephen released his grip. He stood tall, brushing dust off his shoulder as his magic dimmed. "How's that for holding back?" he asked, his tone dripping with cold disdain.

Vetto groaned but grinned through bloodied teeth, his sharp fangs glinting in the dim light. Then he began to laugh, a deep, guttural sound that echoed through the cavern. "The beast is still hiding his fangs," he said with a rasp, his eyes gleaming with wild determination. "All you've shown me so far are your claws."

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