The Soil Stained Black
by SMYGO4EVA
It was all over.
They had won.
And yet–
When Mimosa had first seen him, she did not know what to make of it. Adrenaline was already spiraling through her, so once she felt the air bone-chilling as ice, she knew something was wrong.
In the Shadow Palace, where all sorts of dark magic, magic not of the world she knew, were present, all around, the air distorting into a baleful miasma. Mimosa had laid her eyes on the demon, no, the Devil, down below the chasm, as she and Asta lowered themselves to the ground with her Plant Magic.
It was as almost as if she could not breathe, she could not make heads or tails of anything. Even when she was healing the one named Rhya with her magic, she could not help but hear and see everything the Devil had wrought, every horrendous, disgusting, and monstrous act he carried out against those who fought him.
Even hearing the Devil's voice made her skin crawl, shifting from a silken purr to a cacophonous shrill. She was certain she felt the creature's unholy, crimson eyes upon her.
Asta, Yuno, Captain Yami, Captain Charlotte, everyone fought the demonic creature.
It was over, the battle was won, and yet….
Poison.
Such dark magic…
The taste of blood flowed in her mouth, tendrils of deep darkness surrounding her, violent shadowswirls of energy closing in on her. With each inhale, it became harder and harder for her to swallow it all down.
She struggled to stop her shoulders from trembling, veins across her eyelids, her insides from liquefying into nothing.
Mimosa could not breathe, her hands itching press against her neck in search of–
"Open your eyes."
Every muscle in her screamed for her to get up, to move, to call out her magic, but there was no use. She could not breathe; there was something around her throat, growing tighter and tighter with each passing second.
She opened her eyes.
The Devil stood, his body hanging over hers like a shadow.
Mimosa wanted to look away, to push away from him, but her legs were frozen, glued to the ground. Her eyes widened, her face a look of abject horror.
It could not be – No, this was a bad dream, nightmare. No, He could not possibly be here.
No, no, no, no, no!
A rational part of her knew that he wasn't. He couldn't be standing in front of her.
Such evil had been vanquished.
None of this was real.
It couldn't.
Mimosa couldn't help the shiver that crawled up her spine when his blackened lips curved into a smile, sharp cruel fangs unveiled.
"Ohh, what a pretty doll you are…"
An ungodly cold….
Eyes golden…
Almost futile against him…
Such inky blackness
Pulled her close…
"You…w-what are you…"
Claws wrapped around her throat; tightly. To this creature, she was so sweet and delicate. So very, very broken….
Black-crimson eyes watched her, lust and blood from what was left….
"Humans, always fun little toys to play with, to bend and break."
A sadistic chuckle accompanied his words….
Mimosa shuddered, arching her back.
The Devil let his tendrils wrap around her, almost mockingly, and she jolted when she felt them seize upon her, holding her tight, caged, trapped.
Another of his blackened claws got hold of her delicate face, careful not to break it, but oh so eager to do so.
"You should know by now…"
She couldn't scream, she couldn't cry out, but she shut her eyes shut tightly.
"Sweet little flower…."
He was close now…
"You're mine…"
Mimosa shook her head, thrashing frantically, tears threatening to fall down her ashen face. The Devil's tendrils held her tight, tight, tight in a vice, she couldn't even breathe.
"No! Stay away from me! You're not real! No, no!"
His breath wafted over her skin, his wings enclosing around them both, blowing out the light.
Against her throat, he grinned.
"You're mine, my little plaything."
NO!
Within seconds she was screaming.
Her insides burned, her chest ached only to disappear moments later.
Crimson eyes painted her vision, and darkness swallowed her whole.
Her eyes shot open. Mimosa jolted up in her bed, her heart pounding in her chest, and her breathing ragged.
She blinked, sunlight peeking through the blinds, and she looked down to see her hands gripping her tangled bed sheets.
After a few minutes, she calmed down enough to realize that she was in her room, safe and sound. She breathed out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat off her brow, and looked to her bedside table.
6:17 AM – it was too early to be awake at this hour. Relieved that she didn't have to be awake for her Magic Knight duties just yet, she fell back onto the bed.
She began to stare at the ceiling, her breathing and heartbeat back to normal, but her thoughts scattered.
That nightmare, it felt so real, much too real for her liking.
Mimosa let out a deep breath, exhaustion taking hold of her once again, and her eyes fluttered closed.
"Nothing like that will ever happen." She said aloud, to herself, before falling back into slumber.
A/N: This was my first time writing for Black Clover, so forgive me if there are some character inconsistencies.