Strange use of Magic (Black Clover AU)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Stephen secured his sword at his waist, held firmly in place by an enchanted sash. Taking a deep breath, he hovered off the ground, eyes narrowing in focus as golden, glowing Tao Mandalas formed around his hands. Without hesitation, Stephen surged forward, propelling himself through the air toward Valtos, his gaze sharpened with intent as he prepared to gauge the power of his opponent's Spatial magic.

Valtos, observing Stephen's rapid approach, spread his arms wide with a sinister smile. Shadows rippled and coalesced into several dark portals, hovering ominously in the air around him. A moment later, an onslaught of dark magic bullets erupted from each portal, hurtling toward Stephen from every angle, their eerie glow painting the battlefield in shades of violet and black.

Stephen's hands moved with practiced precision, each motion fluid and deliberate. He twirled and weaved, the Tao Mandalas on his palms deflecting the incoming barrage with bursts of bright light. Explosions crackled around him as the bullets made contact with his mystical shields, their force dissipated by his swift and graceful maneuvers. As he twisted in the air, Stephen narrowed his focus, channeling his magic to morph the Mandalas into elegant war fans that shimmered with ethereal power.

For a heartbeat, the assault paused as Stephen stopped most of them with the war fan, Stephen seized the moment. He flashed through a series of intricate hand signs while muttering an incantation under his breath. Instantly, blue flames, the Flames of Faltine, ignited around his hands, their heat intense and otherworldly.

With a deft spin, Stephen transformed into a whirling cyclone of flame, burning through any dark magic projectiles that dared approach him. The searing vortex of blue fire rippled towards him as he curled into a ball, channeling the flames into a condensed sphere before unfurling his body with explosive energy. The resultant shockwave of flame swept across the battlefield, incinerating the dark bullets and collapsing the small, pulsing portals in its wake.

Valtos's eyes widened in disbelief as his dark gateways fizzled out, consumed by the searing heat. "Impossible," he whispered, the word escaping his lips like a hiss as the battlefield crackled with residual energy.

Stephen, surrounded by the flickering remnants of flame that danced across his robes and singed the ends of his hair and body, allowed a confident grin to spread across his face. "Don't you just love magic? I know I do," he said, his voice steady, eyes gleaming with determination as he clenched his fists tighter.

With a sudden thrust, Stephen launched a powerful torrent of blue flames directly at Valtos. The dark Wizard's form shimmered as he sank into the shadows beneath his feet, vanishing just before the inferno seared through where he had stood. The rooftop buckled under the intense heat, the spot where Valtos had been now scorched and half-melted.

Reappearing on a distant section of the rooftop, Valtos smirked, though his eyes betrayed a hint of worry. Stephen clicked his tongue in mild frustration. "This is going to get annoying fast," he muttered, extinguishing the flames on one hand which he used to summon his sling ring.

With practiced ease, Stephen traced a circle in the air, a swirling portal of light materializing before him. Without hesitation, he flew through it.

Suddenly, multiple portals of both black and gold began to manifest across the city of the Clover Kingdom. From within those portals, Stephen conjured orbs of blue fire, launching them at Valtos with precision.

Seeing Stephen fly ahead, Wanda summoned two glowing orbs of magic to her palms, using them to levitate. "I'll see if Stephen needs help," she informed Noelle before darting after him.

Meanwhile, Asta and Fuegoleon stood ready to face Rades. The barrier protecting Rades shimmered as projectiles ricocheted off it and hurtled toward the group. Fuegoleon prepared to unleash his flames, and Asta readied his sword, but much to their surprise Noelle moved faster.

[Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Lair]

A massive dome of water engulfed them, forming a protective shield that deflected the incoming projectiles. Fuegoleon glanced back at Noelle, a smile touching his lips. "While your defense is appreciated, it's unnecessary."

"HE'S RIGHT!" Asta shouted with enthusiasm. He charged out of the dome, swords in hand, becoming a blur as he leapt off the wall and plunged both blades into Rades' barrier, shattering it like glass. Rades' confident smirk twisted into a look of panic as Fuegoleon stepped out from behind the watery shield, steam rising from his figure as his grimoire glowed brilliantly.

A small orb of flames appeared before Fuegoleon, releasing a straight beam of searing heat that struck Carl square in the chest, leaving a tiny hole that ignited moments later. Rades' eyes widened in disbelief.

[Flame Creation Magic: Sol Linea] 

At that instant, a black portal appeared near the wall, and Valtos tumbled out, his robes scorched and torn. Yet, before anyone could react, Valtos raised his hand, conjuring a portal beneath Fuegoleon's feet that swallowed him in an instant.

"BIG BROTHER!" Leopold shouted, his voice ringing with alarm. At the same time, a golden portal shimmered, and Stephen stepped through it.

"SIR FUEGOLEON!" Asta gasped, eyes wide with shock.

Rades threw his head back and cackle maniacally. "HAHAHAHAHA! THAT FOOL! MY VENGEANCE WAS ONLY A SIDE QUEST—HE WAS THE REAL TARGET!"

"What did you do?" Stephen demanded, his expression growing serious, as Wanda quickly appeared as well upon hearing the shouting. 

Leopold went and took a hold of Valtos, "YOU FREAK! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU SEND MY BROTHER!! TELL ME!" Leopold yelled as he grabbed Valtos' shirt tightly. 

Everyone then got distracted by Rades laughing once again, which gave Valtos the perfect opportunity to conjure a portal behind him and appear on a roof overlooking them. 

"You want your precious brother back? Here you can have him" Valtos said as a portal appeared above the ground. 

And out came Fuegoleon with a missing arm, blood splattering and pooling all over the stone ground. 

"FUEGOLEOOOON!!!" Leopold shouted in grief. 

"AHHHHHH!!" Asta yelled in fury as he stared at the two beings responsible. 

Stephen didn't hesitate and immediately stepped forwards, he flipped Fuegoleon around and hit the area around his lost limb rapidly. 

"What are you doing!?" Leopold asked, tears appearing around his eyes. 

"Acupuncture for now, I'm stopping the bleeding before I start conjuring a healing spell" Stephen said as he made a hand movement over Fuegoleon's limb, 

[Arcane Magic: Terranotti Healing Spell] 

Light green energy escaped from Stephen's hands and started enveloping Fuegoleon's figure. 

"We've done what we came to do, Rades, so let's leave before any more Magic Knights show up" Valtos told Rades while holding his side. 

"Asta, don't let them escape!" Stephen ordered as he focused on Healing Fuegoleon. 

Stephen increased the power of his spell adding even more mana and magic power to it. The strength of his spell increased that a large magical aura exploded off from him sending out a small shock wave as he concentrated. 

Slowly Fuegoleon's wounds began to close as the blood around his body began to dry up. "I'm going to need more time, this might take a while… His wounds are more severe than we expected and appear" Stephen muttered. 

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