OooOoOooO

Blasé - AU. Anti-magic is Asta's natural power from the very beginning. Not from any five-leaf clover grimoire or demon swords. His. And it changes everything.

Prologue

Asta didn't remember when he first dreamed of being the Magic Emperor. But he knew, deep down, that he wanted it in order to better their situation. So people would stop looking down on them for their social status or their origins. That even an unknown poor orphan like him, or anyone really, could be great someday.

The truth of the matter was, it seemed like even the world was against him.

Because Asta had no magic.

That simple fact rankled him down to his very core. He would never admit it but it still left him miserable at nights and kept him awake wondering if this was really the will of the universe.

He insisted that he was just a late bloomer. Even though it continued to send chills down his spine when younger kids awaken their powers before him, showing him just how unlikely that was. Because, really, who ever heard of anyone not having any magic in this world practically ran by mana? No one. That's who.

Or, it's him now, probably.

He yelled and yelled his dreams because, maybe, the universe would quit screwing with him. But, no one listened, no one believed.

And, sad as it was, he learned to get used to it.

That was why, when the universe finally gave him his miracle, he never saw it coming.

OooOoOooO

Asta had a strange dream.

He had been walking with Yuno in the snow-covered village, almost the exact setting from when that thug had tried to steal Yuno's necklace. But, there was no danger, just the two of them walking in companionable silence. The winter surrounding them seemed to fall silent and only the sound of the snow crunching under their boots seemed to echo.

Yuno suddenly stopped when they neared the Church doors and turned to Asta with bright eyes.

"Don't you wish we're all just the same?" His rival asked him with a small smile on his face.

"Eh?" He was confused.

"Don't you wish sometimes that-" Yuno paused and looked towards the bright lights of the village. "-magic just never existed?"

He wanted to say no, he didn't wish for that because magic was amazing. It just didn't—want him, that's all. And, truthfully, that was how he felt. Just because he was different and magic made him different never meant that he hated it.

Because that would mean resenting everyone who were born with it too.

He wanted to say no—

But his mouth just—wouldn't move.

"Because Asta," Yuno turned to him with tears streaming down his cheeks — and wasn't that a shock, Yuno had stopped crying since that day. "You deserve to be able to have it, too." The dark haired boy proclaimed.

Then, Asta woke up, feeling surprisingly empty and it wasn't until he saw the blurry outline of Nash's worried face hovering that he realized he had been crying. He had slept in a bit late and the other had come back into the room to wake him up for breakfast.

He and Nash had an unspoken agreement to never talk about that incident. He went back to his routine but, no matter how much he ignored it, that dream had shaken him.

And it showed.

He sometimes went quiet without prompting, often caught staring at the doors of the church. Other times, he responded to anyone calling him a little bit slower or there were times that he barely kept up with conversations. He also seemed busier than ever, always doing something that required him always moving about.

All of them noticed his erratic behavior but when asked, Asta laughed it all off and often proclaimed he was just contemplating how to get stronger.

It wasn't until Yuno confronted him that something changed.

"Asta," Yuno hesitantly ventured during dinner, pursing his lips. "What's bothering you?" He finally asked the question that had been worrying everyone as they all fell silent to wait for the ash blond's answer.

"Eh?" Asta looked confused for a moment before grinning widely. "What are you talking about? Nothing's bothering me." As if to make a statement that the conversation was over, he proceeded to stuff his face with more tatoes to avoid speaking.

"Yuno is just worried Asta," Sister Lily put in kindly. "You've been acting a bit—-different, that's all." Her brows furrowed a bit.

Asta abruptly stood up, pushing himself off from the table.

"Thanks for the meal!" He announced loudly, grinning widely.

With that, as abrupt as his declaration, he marched out of the dining room a bit hurriedly, completely unaware of the stupefied silence he left behind him. Though, it wasn't until he reached the church doors and stepped outside did he hear the footsteps following behind him.

"Asta!" Yuno's voice called him. "Asta!"

"Ah, Yuno," He acknowledged, pausing in his tracks.

"What was that about?" The dark haired boy questioned, panting lightly. "Why did you just–" He paused, unable to come up with words.

"It's nothing," Asta avoided his gaze, putting his hands behind his head and continued his trek down the field.

Though, his sudden adventure was cut short when he felt the wind abruptly shift before he found his world turning upside down. Not long after, he came tumbling forward fast at the power behind it and skidded to a stop at the base of a tree.

That was no ordinary wind–

"Are you done being difficult yet?" came Yuno's quiet words and Asta found himself at the end of his best friend's glare, something he hadn't seen for quite some time. At the very least, not directed at him. Wind whipped around Yuno's hands, only signifying the weight of emotions behind it.

Though, it pissed him off. Normally, it didn't affect him as much as it did now. But that dream had rattled his nerves. Just why, why, why–

"Just shut up!" Asta screamed angrily from the ground as he covered his ears, at Yuno, at everyone, at himself–

Then, everything got strange.

Black and red wisps of something came out of nowhere and straight at Yuno.

And the wind died down.

Chapter I – Lawless

He took a deep breath.

"One day, I'll become the Magic Emperor! Until then, please marry me!" Asta declared loudly, thrusting a flower towards the love of his life.

"Asta, I don't think this is really the time," Sister Lily merely hummed, continuing to walk towards the back of the church as she carried the laundry basket. "Besides, do you really have time to slack off? It's that time of the year, isn't it?" She smiled pleasantly at him, absently patting her grimoire.

He gulped as he readily stepped back.

"U-Uhh," He sweatdropped, anxious. "Y-Yeah, you're totally right, sister!" He laughed obnoxiously, totally intimidated at the silent threat.

"Just so we're clear," Her smile widened. "In fact, why don't you help me carry these," She handed him the basket without a by your leave. He clumsily adjusted his hold on the basket and sulkily followed after her, though, he was still internally reeling.

Gyah! Why did she get this scary! He shrieked internally.

"Asta, are you pestering Sister again?" Recca's voice sounded from behind him and he turned around to see her with Yuno and the other kids.

"How many rejections do you need before you take a hint?" Nash huffed exasperatedly, looking annoyed.

He dropped the basket, crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"You should already know that Sister is a woman of the cloth, therefore, cannot get married–" Yuno tonelessly reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I can't marry anyone yet because I'm only fifteen," Asta cut him off, continuing his tirade with familiarity born from numerous times he'd heard of it. He stuck his tongue out at the taller youth childishly. "Just because you're a handsome jerk doesn't give you the right to judge me!" He pointed at the other petulantly.

Yuno merely snubbed him and proceeded to dry the laundry with his wind magic.

"Stop ignoring me!" Asta yelled loudly, annoyed.

As if to follow Asta's words, Yuno directed a large gust of wind towards the ash blond. However, Asta quickly removed one of his gloves and waved the wind away into nothing. Yuno paused upon seeing this and regarded the other. The shorter teen clenched his hand at the attention before putting the glove back on.

"Still can't control it yet?" Yuno asked him quietly, his brows furrowing.

"It's not that and you know it," He squinted at the other. "I forget myself sometimes and that can be– troublesome," He pursed his lips at this, a bit frustrated.

"Asta, you've been working hard on this," Sister Lily approached him, reassuring him. "It'll come naturally with more practice and experience. We've already been over this,"

"I know, and I'm never giving up!" He swore wholeheartedly, clenching his gloved hands. "It's just, it's that time already! I'm just feeling very anxious! Yuno and I are supposed to be finally getting our grimoire! We can't let you down." Asta rubbed the back of his head agitatedly.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Nash sighed, though not sounding discouraging in the slightest.

"Yuno and Asta are the hope of this church!" Father cried out from behind, passionate.

Yuno frowned as he ceased his magic, gently letting the laundry to glide back into the basket. The other kids were awed and clapped at the display.

"That's not it, is it?" The dark haired teen stared intensely at Asta.

"W-What are you talking about?" Asta avoided his gaze, sweating a bit as he proceeded to do rapid one-handed push-ups like a maniac. "I'm just so excited! Can't you see? I'm so pumped for tomorrow! Who needs to worry that I might not even get my own grimoire? Ha-ha-ha!" He laughed a bit hysterically, proceeding to bang his forehead on the ground in the process with such force that blood started to drip down his eyes.

"Asta!" Sister Lily cried out in shock as the ash blond continued banging his head but was ignored. "Asta! Asta!" She yelled with such force as she subconsciously activated her spell and punched him to the ground with a water fist.

Yuno proceeded to take a large step away from the nun.

"You're not helping…" He murmured quietly, eyeing the spectacle as Sister Lily frantically shook a dazed Asta by the shoulders.

OooOoOooO

Asta took a deep breath to calm himself.

He unclenched his gloved hands and told his feet to keep following Yuno into the grimoire tower. He could do this. Father, Sister Lily and the others all trusted him to make it through. Besides, grimoire or no grimoire, he would join Yuno at the Magic Knights Entrance Exam.

It wasn't like they hadn't considered it before.

Ever since he awakened his powers six years ago (for it felt strange to refer to it as magic when it worked as the very antithesis of magic), he had trained diligently with it in order to control it and get stronger. Yuno, Sister Lily and even Father had helped him in getting to where he was today. There was no way he would let them down. However, considering the nature of his ability, Asta had come to accept the probable reality that he might not even have a grimoire.

He ignored the whispers around him and stared determinedly at the master of the tower.

The words of the old man and everyone around washed over him but he barely understood, too anxious. However, he was in awe when he saw several grimoires floating down to their respective owners. Others were already starting to compare their own and he felt dread settle deep within him when no grimoire even passed in his direction.

This was it then.

Asta almost didn't dare breathe, biting his lip.

No one around him noticed his lack of grimoire. He met Sister Lily's eyes within the crowd as she stood with Father and Nash, trying not to convey the sting of disappointment. A deep furrow settled in her brow and she merely stared at him with resolve. The teen felt a grin stretching his lips at that and wondered for the nth time if it really was impossible to change her mind about marrying him. That woman had always been a source of strength for everyone back at the church.

A bright light called on his attention and his eyes found Yuno with his newly acquired grimoire.

A four-leaf clover grimoire.

His eyes widened in amazement, forgetting his own dilemma.

Everyone started to whisper in wonder at the phenomenon.

Yuno, you insufferable handsome jerk, I always knew you were strong! Asta grinned proudly, fierce happiness for the other outweighing the disappointment from earlier. He met Yuno's eyes as the other merely smiled at him.

"I'm going to become…" Golden eyes squarely met his. "…the Magic Emperor." Yuno declared out loud, for the first time for everyone to hear.

As expected, most of the others cheered and Asta joined them.

This was the first step in making their dreams a reality. And Yuno was already one step ahead of him. But Asta couldn't even bring himself to feel any ill will towards his rival. Yuno honored their promise. A swell of emotion almost overwhelmed him but he swallowed it down in order to celebrate.

"Oy, what's that?" A random person spoke from his left, pointing at something behind Asta.

The ash blond turned around to look as others followed his example.

His heart skipped a beat as he saw a dusty and beaten up grimoire floating behind him. Black and red wisps of energy lingered upon its edges and, just by floating there, Asta knew. This felt familiar.

It called out to him.

He heard whispers around him, but not making out any word as his world focused on that one book he never thought he could own.

A grimoire. For the anti-magic kid. How–

–cliché, goddamnit.

Stretching out a hand for the book, he grinned as it drifted towards him. It might have looked old and worn but he felt it. There was no doubt that this was for him.

"I guess we still have the same goal, eh, Yuno?"

Yuno threw his head back and laughed.

OooOoOooO

"Yatta!" Asta pumped his fist in the air as they walked out of the tower. "I'll take care of this grimoire for eternity." He cried rivers of tears as he delicately hug his grimoire to his cheek, almost too scared to rub it in case it fell apart.

The taller haired teen sighed at his antics.

"Come on, shrimp," Yuno attempted to pull him after him. "The others are already back at the church." His eyebrow twitched as Asta continued his litany of love for his grimoire.

"Who would've thought, right?" Asta continued crying dramatically, letting himself be dragged.

"You know what—" Yuno carelessly let go of his collar, letting Asta fall to the ground with a thud. "Why am I even bothering," He grumbled as he trotted ahead.

"Oy!" Asta yelled indignantly. "You oblivious jerk! What if you damaged my grimoire—-"

He was cut off as chains shot off towards them out of nowhere, instantly binding Yuno and him together with their grimoires. –

That's fast! Asta's eyes widened as the chains tightened around him.

"Creation Magic: Magic-Binding Iron Chain," A long haired man stepped out as he smirked at his captives, the scar on the left half of his face very distinctive. "It restricts the magic and movements of those it captures," He gleefully informed them, the chains tightening around them.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Yuno whispered towards Asta, unmoved by their predicament.

Asta squinted his eyes. "Heck if I know," He grumbled, annoyed, as he made the painstakingly slow movement of removing one of his gloves.

"Doesn't matter if you do," The man waved away nonchalantly as his chains brought to him Yuno's grimoire. "I was a pretty famous magic knight once, but now, I'm just a petty old thief. And I think this four leaf grimoire would fetch a good price in the black market, yes?" He lovingly stroke the book.

"He still didn't tell us his name," Asta pointed out, unfazed.

"He just told us it doesn't matter, dumbass," The dark haired teen deadpanned.

The thief's eyebrow twitched.

"It's Revchi! Revchi, you wretched fools!" The man exploded angrily at being mocked. "Even though you're chosen by the four-leaf, you're still a rookie who just received his grimoire." His slanted eyes narrowed at Yuno in particular.

His lips then stretched into a twisted grin.

"Too bad that I happened to be here. Your legend will have to end before it even begins," He snickered into his unoccupied hand as his chains further squeezed them.

"Any time now, shrimp," Yuno urged, his eyes looking sideways to the ash blond.

"You'll see, I'll be taller than you tomorrow!" Asta griped as he finally stripped off one of his gloves and glared right at the thief. "And you! I don't care who you are but you have no right to take away someone's grimoire! Let alone, sell it, you bastard!" He yelled as he proceeded to grip the chains around him and Yuno with a bare hand and yanked.

Revchi's eyes widened as his chains disintegrated right before his eyes.

Before he could even say anything, Asta launched himself at him. In panic, the thief tried to send more chains towards the ash blond but the other just expertly dodged and waved away the chains that crumbled under his touch. As soon as the ash blond reached him, Asta's grimoire glowed a dark red.

"Anti-Magic Release: Devouring Bind," Asta murmured as dark wisps of red energy shot off from the ground and pulled on Revchi.

The thief felt his reinforcement magic slowly dwindling and went to full-blown panic as he dropped Yuno's grimoire. He released all of his magic and dark energy tried to cling further onto him. Asta grimaced and increase his output, watching as his power stretched out like vines and sunk in into Revchi's skin. The man screamed in terror.

He's fighting it, the ash blond realized with a wince. At this rate, I might accidentally kill him. I need to knock him out, but how?

As if to answer his question, a sword slowly came out of his grimoire. It took the form of a heavy broadsword covered mostly in dirt and scuff marks and, as he clutched it by the hilt, he felt the overflowing energy of anti-magic.

Without further wondering about the circumstance, he swung the sword directly at Revchi and sent him skidding to a wall, finally unconscious.

"What was that spell?" He heard Yuno ask from where the other had picked up his grimoire, staring at the spot of the previously bound Revchi.

Asta scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm not too sure myself but it just became natural to use it," He admitted with a grimace. "It's supposed to nullify any magic that a user is trying to use. For someone who looks pathetic, he has a lot of magic and at the rate he's going, he's going to bleed himself dry trying to get out of that." He wiped his brow in exhaustion and felt himself fall on his back. That surprisingly took out a lot from him. Better use that spell as a last resort kinda thing, he mused to himself.

"You're really amazing, you know that?" Yuno remarked with a small smile as he pulled Asta back on his feet.

"That's why I'm gonna be Magic Emperor!" He laughed obnoxiously, still holding the sword with his hands on his hips.

"Not happening," The other countered swiftly.

Both of them then stared at the unconscious Revchi.

Awkward silence ensued.

"So, what are we supposed to do about that guy?"

OooOoOooO

Asta knew he still had a long way to go.

Still, his six months had been fruitful, to say the least. He had stayed back at the church for the first month, doing his basic training of his abilities with Sister Lily and Father. After that, he had ventured through the forest surrounding Hage for the next few months and even met some interesting characters. He even met up with Yuno every other week for a mock battle to keep their senses in check.

He knew he was ready. Or else, he was never going to be.

It was just like yesterday when he had presented his grimoire to Father and everyone back at the church. Obviously, the kids were happy for him because they had all been preparing for the other outcome that he would never own one. Father had cried dramatically and proclaimed that he and Yuno were growing up too fast and Sister Lily had merely smiled and wished them luck. Asta knew that things would've been very different had he not awaken any power and continued to grow up without magic.

Besides, it had taken a lot of training and shouting at Father to even let him acknowledge that he had finally grown up as his own person. Asta could just imagine him trying to guilt trip him into coming back in case if he didn't make the cut. That old man, he grimaced.

Now, standing here with all the other applicants for the Magic Knights Entrance Exam, he found that he was more than excited than he was nervous.

Of course, the ash blond knew that the buzz all around him wasn't solely due to the applicants' nerves. But rather, the whispering had started because of Yuno. Specifically, when his rival had presented his four-leaf grimoire.

That jerk, Asta grinned ferociously. He just had to make a scene wherever he goes, he mused wryly.

"Oy, Yuno!" He called out, waving happily.

"Asta," His rival nodded to him, eyes shining with subtle excitement. Then his eyes shifted to gaze behind the ash blond. "And company. I didn't know you've already made a lot of friends," His voice was so monotonous that the other couldn't tell if he was being mocked or not.

Asta decided that Yuno was just probably bored to tears with all the waiting.

Though, looking over his shoulder, the dark haired teen was right.

"Yeah," He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "They've been following me around since we got here. I dunno what they want, they just hover behind me. When I try to talk to them, they back away real fast. Watch," He turned around hurriedly and stared at the flock of birds which immediately scattered and flew away from him before he could breathe out a word.

When he turned back to face Yuno, the flock was back right where they were drifting earlier.

"That's really bad, even for someone from the boonies," Someone laughed as they pointed at him.

Asta crossed his arms and tilted his head.

What the heck are they talking about? He wondered to himself as he sighed, waving to Yuno as he walked around. The birds still followed behind him, he knew as he could still hear the flapping of their wings. There were a lot of people taking these exams and Asta couldn't wait to eventually test against them. Still, he wondered if any of them could tell that he didn't actually have any real magic. At least, not the conventional one they were used to.

Pausing in his step as he almost bumped into another guy, Asta couldn't help but stare at the person. The guy was huge.

He coughed as the man blew smoke into his face.

"What do you want, runt?" The guy drawled out, eyes narrowing into a glare. "Do you want me to poke those eyes for you, huh?" He loomed over Asta threateningly.

His mouth dropped open in shock. What do I do? He internally freaked out. The man had a thick neck and some impressive killer eyes. Not to mention, his overwhelming presence that lingered at the edge of his senses told him that this guy had a lot of magic power. At first, it had been next to impossible to sense mana for him considering that he initially grew up without any magic awareness. However, possessing an anti-magic ability like his made him hyperaware of the absence of mana.

To sense a vast presence from where this person stood spoke volumes of what the man had.

Better play this safe just in case he's not an applicant, Asta finally decided as he grinned cheerily in the face of doom.

"You look really imposing!" The ash blond admitted with awe, ignoring the killing intent directed at his person. "You must train a lot every day to get this powerful! Those muscles are so big, you look like you could lift anything!" Asta knew he was, maybe, laying it on a little thick but he couldn't stop the hint of jealousy seeping into his voice.

"Looks likes you wanna die young," The man suddenly growled as he gripped Asta's head with his large hand.

"WHAT!" Asta yelled loudly as he squirmed.

Eh?! What did I say? He panicked as he was easily lifted off his feet. Though, he's really crazy strong!

Asta tried to remove his head from the hand holding him up but it wouldn't budge no matter how much he strained to pull it off. He almost didn't hear someone scolding the person crushing his skull and tried not to balk at the knowledge that the muscle head dude was actually a magic knight leader, a captain. He paused though when the hand tightened. Asta then felt it. He bared his teeth into a grin and removed one of his gloves.

Clutching the man's forearm with his bare hand, he didn't notice the other's eyes widen in quiet disbelief when the ash blond managed to yank himself out, and let go of Asta in surprise.

Asta fell on his bottom and tried to massage some feeling back into his scalp at the abuse.

Crap, he grimaced as he stood up. He's using his magic to enhance his strength but that doesn't mean to say he's not physically tough.

"You're kinda interesting, aren't you?" The man, Yami Sukehiro from what the people around them were whispering about sent him a sinister look, looking rather gleeful. "Show me what you've got in this exam. Or else, I'm gonna freakin' kill you where you stand." He threw his head back and laughed out loud, walking away just as someone announced the start of the exam. Asta gulped as he watched the retreating back of Yami followed by his subordinates.

Man, I can't believe I instantly got myself mixed up with that psycho!

Asta slapped his cheeks to shake off the rather odd encounter and told himself to focus on the exam.

"Alright, let's do this!" He cheered boisterously as he pumped his fist.

He still had a dream to fulfill, after all.

OooOoOooO

Considering the nature of his abilities, Asta would've thought that he would've done worse.

The flying portion of the exam had been, by far, the trickiest he'd have to be. For one, the instant his hand touched the broomstick, he had accidentally nullified the mana without meaning to. He had lost his glove somewhere from that meeting with Yami. It wasn't like he couldn't control his powers – it was just troublesome when he sometimes forgot he had them and accidentally use them.

Anyway, the broomstick had an odd power attached to it and he had been startled at how the broom itself had been created from pure mana. Sure, he had seen his fair share of creation magic but not in a situation where he had to handle the creation itself.

Asta ignored how the Golden Dawn's captain's eyes followed him after that. As if the man had felt the loss of mana personally.

He expected the broomstick to disappear but it had instead remained tangible, albeit, a normal one. What he had done was proceed to bounce off around the arena, letting his power hone in on the mana around him and go with the pull. To say the least, that had been the bumpiest ride of his life. That was the first time he had pulled that stunt. He knew that anti-magic energy, when used in tremendous amount and concentrated, chased after magic. But due to the fact that a lot of people were using magic around him, he had actually started chaos for that portion and hell on some applicants.

That hadn't been his intention. Still, he was just thankful he finally got through that. Though, he was nervous as his performance garnered the attention of the captains.

Yami in particular was grinning pretty widely and something that made that man happy scared Asta.

The creation magic portion had actually been the easiest to handle for the ash blond. For one, he could create small blades made of pure anti-magic energy. Aiming them at targets had been kind of therapeutic considering that someone had decided to stalk him throughout the exam to try and appear better due to his less than stellar showing.

Of course, Yuno aced all the portions with practiced ease. That talented jerk.

So, when the combat portion had been announced, Asta had been too happy to accept Sekke's invitation to be his opponent. The guy irritated him, yes, but that seemed to be usual for someone like him. No, what actually rankled Asta was how the guy acted as if he was entitled to this exam. He and Yuno had worked their asses off for this. What really cemented his annoyance was when the guy had the nerve to bring up his origin as if that defined his abilities.

Asta wasn't one to be easily provoked, that had always been Yuno. But when he was, he could be a little vindictive.

The moment the match had started, Asta didn't immediately attack. He watched as Sekke used his magic and created some kind of barrier that fired canon balls. It had defense and it had attack in range. That could've been a problem if he wasn't who he was.

This guy needed a little wake up call.

"I'm not going to hold back, Asta!" Sekke mocked him, smirking. "Give it all you've got, ha-hha."

"Got it," Asta simply nodded. "Here I go," He blandly announced as his grimoire hovered in front of him. If this guy took him seriously, he would've at least noticed that Asta's power was not as destructive from the offense portion of the exam. Wordlessly, he created a small blade of anti-magic energy. He could already feel the skepticism around him at how he could defeat that with a flimsy weapon.

He couldn't stop himself from grinning.

Faster than most eyes could see, he flung the blade straight at Sekke who merely smirked triumphantly at what he perceived to be a useless attack. Though, Asta tried not to laugh obnoxiously when the blond shrieked in shock as his barrier fell away instantly to his anti-magic. Sekke's magic wasn't as powerful as he had thought, though. That barrier was destroyed way too easily. Without waiting for his opponent to recover, he immediately launched himself at the conceited blond and pulled out his broadsword.

And proceeded to smash Sekke to the ground with it.

"I'm not here to do things halfway and join the magic knights just for fun," Asta declared as he glared down at the twitching Sekke. "I'm going to give it my all and become Magic Emperor!"

OooOoOooO

"Number 164,"

Yuno stepped forward towards the center of the Arena, calm as a cucumber. Asta deeply envied him for his composure.

All the captains raised their hands.

Asta's mouth dropped open in shock. He knew that his rival was strong but, damn, everyone now knew it too. All around them, people were murmuring about someone from the forsaken realm getting this privilege. Asta didn't pay them any attention, though, waiting for Yuno's choice eagerly.

"Please let me allow to join–" Yuno then stared directly at the proctor of the whole exam. "–the Golden Dawn."

The ash blond laughed at this. Of course, the jerk would choose the strongest squad. And right now, that seemed to be like the best option in getting closer to their dream. Yuno was ahead of him again. However, that wasn't Asta's problem.

"Number 165," His heart jumped to his throat as his number was called. He bravely stepped forward to face the music and squeezed his eyes shut–

I don't even care which but please have a squad choose me. Please–

"What?" Someone from around him exclaimed. "Four hands! He has four hands raised for him!"

Asta's eyes snapped open in shock and stared up at the captains to see who had chosen him. One was, surprisingly, Yami. Another was the captain of the Crimson Lions, if he remembered correctly. And another one was the youngest of all the captains, grinning down at Asta as he waved his hand excitedly. However, the biggest surprise had been the last person. The squad that was said to only be second to the Golden Dawn– the captain of the Silver Eagles.

"I want that guy on my squad!" The youngest exclaimed loudly, staring at Asta intensely for some reason.

What– Asta's breath came out sharply as he stared with wide eyes. –the hell did just happen?

The Crimson Lion's captain calmly eyed Asta from where he stood, giving him a rather polite nod. The Silver Eagle's Captain, however, had his eyes narrowed at Asta with such intensity that the ash blond had to fight the urge to take a step back. The man was a prince, right? Or that was what the people had said earlier. He shivered at the cold glare. Last but not the least was Yami who sent him a rather apathetic look, a far cry from the terrifying and violent character earlier.

These people– chose him.

Clearing his throat awkwardly lest he embarrassed himself by bawling, he squared his stance and stared determinedly at his new captain.

Yuno wouldn't leave him behind again.

"Thank you for having me in the Silver Eagles!"

–and that changes everything.

OooOoOooO

TBC.