Part 53: Power to change destiny

"Please stop this," said Vanessa calling out to the controlled Asta as he stood there in his new form holding out the demon slayer sword with an angry look on his face.

"Cmon Asta snap out of it," said Fanzell calling out to his student but didn't get a response.

"Now which one of those weakling shall I have you kill first, oh yes," she said looking toward Noelle, "She will be the first to go, its only fitting for royalty," she said as Asta began to walked towards Noelle slowly.

"Wait don't hurt her," said Vanessa as she struggled in her bindings.

"Come on Asta this isnt you, you cant let her do this," said Fanzell trying to reach out to his student but he only kept walking forward, "Its no use, we cant reach him," he thought when the queen spoke up.

"How amusing, a royalty of the clover kingdom struck down by its own blade," she said as Asta walked closer.

"This isnt you Asta, if I can just break out of this I can get read of that spell," said Noelle as she tried to escape from the bindings that held her up.

"Blood puppetry gives me complete control over the persons body, once its cast theres no way it can be undone," said the queen as Asta stood in front of Noelle, "Now kill her," she said as Asta brought down the sword and Noelle closed her eyes.

But after a few moments she then heard the sound of groaning, when she opened her eyes she looked down to see Asta holding his right arm up with his left as he struggled to keep the sword up, "Asta, that's it I knew your still in there," she said smiling.

"Good it looks like she doesn't have complete control over him yet," thought Fanzell as he looked over at the queen of witches who was now holding her right hand up with her magic power covering her fingers.

"This isn't right, he's not even conscious," she said as Asta started struggle more as the sword began to shake, "A magic less person like him shouldn't be able to disobey me," she said looking annoyed.

"Don't you dare look down on Asta," said Noelle looking annoyed making the queen of witches look surprised that she spoke up, given the situation, "Because hes going to become the wizard king," she said.

"That's right ,so please just let them go," said Vanessa getting the queens attention, "Ill stay here forever and I wont ever disobey you again," she said.

"Absolutely not," she answered making Vanessa look surprised by the look in her eyes, "He is going to kill every last one of these imperfect beings and you will stay here, my scribe once told me that you would leave this forest one day Vanessa and that you would one day return," she said before looking back at Asta.

"Though I never would have imagine you would have brought this kind of power back with you, a magic less boy wielding the power of anti magic," she said.

"Wait what do you mean?" Vanessa asked looking confused.

"You may have created some kind of bond with these people, but in the end you are my daughter, family and that ties us together," said the queen of witches as she stared back at Vanessa, "You are mine and just what did you learn from your experience out in the world," she said.

Vanessa then looked surprised as she thought about her past.

Flashback:

The younger Vanessa was sitting down in a large birdcage inside a building. There were windows in the room and she could see two witches fly by as they talked about going to a cake shop outside the forest, "Wait don't go, take me with you," she said rushing over to the bars of the cage. But the witches outside couldn't hear her and she looked down sadly when a voice spoke up from the window.

"Vanessa," she said and she looked up to see the queen of witches.

"Your majesty cant I please just go outside?" She asked.

"No you will remain here until you've learned the power to control destiny," said the queen of witches.

"But ive already tried over and over again, I just don't think my thread magic can do something like that," Vanessa said sadly as her strings moved around her in circles.

"Imperfect, all you need is more training, you are mine so you will not fail," she said began to fly away while the young Vanessa called out to her hoping to change her mind but she didn't respond.

Many years passed by and Vanessa still wasn't able to use her thread magic the way the queen of witches wanted her to. She was able to make some dolls out of her magic, she would pretend to have conversations with them, but in the end she would become sad because she remembered that they were still things created with her magic and she would cry as they vanished.

One day she heard commotion coming from outside, "Whats going on out there," she said lighting her head up from the table when a witch spoke up from the outside.

"Ah, is that a man," she said. A few minutes later there was crash into the wall that created a hole in the cage.

Vanessa shielded her eyes and when she looked up she saw a black haired man wielding a katana, it was a younger Yami, "Man whats their problem, all I was trying to do was some marital arts training," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"It's a man," thought Vanessa looking surprised.

"Still that old woman was something else, just what kind of power was that," he said and Vanessa realized he was taking about the queen, "Oh sorry about the hole in the wall by the way, this your place," he said.

"Uh yes, I was told to stay in this cage by the queen," she said sounding nervous.

"What like a caged bird, well now that theres a hole in your wall I guess you could now fly out," Yami said while pointing at the hole he had just fallen through.

"No I cant, its my faith to stay here," she said turning away.

"Mr faith huh, yeah me and that guy don't really get along that well," said Yami before looking serious, "In the end its up to you to make your own path in life with your own choices," he said making her look surprised, "Well that old lady is powerful then me so I'm gonna go make run for it now, take care caged bird," he said waving as he began to walk away towards the hole.

"Make my own path with my own choices," she thought before looking determined and headed towards the hole, "If I'm a caged bird, then I should be able to fly free," she thought before running through the hole and escaping.

There were then the times she had with the black bulls. Meeting the different members, drinking and laughing whenever Luck was annoying Magna. When she was hanging out with Asta and Noelle on their trip to the capital. But there were two moments that meant to her the most.

Back long before Asta and Noelle joined the black bulls, Vanessa was walking outside the headquarters with a bottle in her hand when she heard yelling from within the forest, "Ill teach you to take my snack," said the annoyed voice of Magna and she looked to see hitting fire balls into the sky.

"Isn't it a little late for training," she said getting his attention and he looked back at her surprised since she was only wearing her underwear and black bulls robe.

"What are you doing wearing that outside," he said while she laughed.

"Um I making you embarrassed," she said.

"No," said Magna looking annoyed as he looked away while she sat down on his crazy cyclone.

"Come on sit back for a while," she said before taking a drink and Magna sighed before sitting down next to her.

"You know your heads gonna hurt a lot the next morning you know that right," said Magna.

"Oh are you not gonna take care of me," she said with a fake sad look on her face.

"Man were you always like this," he said smiling but then noticed the sad look on her face, "Uh damnit, sorry it just you never talk much about your past," he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Magna, do you think were suppose to follow faith," said Vanessa looking up at the night sky.

"What no way," he said making her look at him to see he was smiling, "We make our own path and if faith gets in our way we just blast our way through," he said laughing while she smiled with a small blush on her face.

"Hes not all bad after all," she said as the two of them just stared up at the night sky. That night she had fallen asleep outside and the next morning she had woken up on the couch to the sound of Luck teasing Magna about carrying her in last night. But while Magna looked annoyed and tried to blast the lighting magic user Vanessa just smiled as her feelings had started to change for the flame magic user.

The next thing he remembered was all of the black bulls after Asta and Noelle joined. All of them sitting in a circle as they laughed and ate together.

Flashback end

"You want to know what I found out there, I found family I truly care about and I even found love," said Vanessa with tears in her eyes at the idea of losing the happiness she had found from leaving the forest.

"Imperfect, your are mine and then you will learn to use your power to control destiny itself," the queen said as she moved her hand as Asta continued to struggle to hold his sword as he groaned.

"I'm about to lose the family I found and they're about to lose people they care about to," thought Vanessa, without knowing her girmoire glowed with magic power, "If I really have that power, let me use it so I can save them," she thought as the pages in her grimoire turned to two blank pages where a new spell appeared.

Vanessa strings surrounded her in large circles as the queen of the witches looked at the sight as well. Then the strings formed a small red tornado before taking the form of a small red cat. The red cat landed on Vanessa head before meowing.

"The red thread of fate, the power to control destiny itself," said the queen of witches as the the cat landed on the ground.

"That's the red thread of fate, I didn't expect it to look like a cat," said Vanessa looking surprised.

"Well for now its time for you to kill her," said the queen as the controlled Asta let go of his right arm as the demon slayer swords blade got closer to Noelles face.

"Stop him," said Vanessa looking at the red cat. The cat jumped towards Asta placing its two front paws onto his back.

"It seems you don't have proper control over it yet, but with you training in time you will," the queen said as Asta brought up his sword.

"No," said Vanessa as the queen of witches looked surprised about something.

"Wait something doesn't feel right," she thought, "Its time to end this," she said before looking surprised again, "Didn't I say this a few moments before," she thought thinking Asta had cut Noelles head off, but instead he cut down the Red Cross holding her up and it fell back on the ground.

"No, try again," the queen said thinking she saw him stab Noelle in the stomach, but instead he had stabbed the ground next to her, "Fine try and kill that one," she said looking over at the unconscious Finral. The controlled Asta jumped towards Finral when the red cat touched his back again, Asta completely missed.

"I see, Vanessa isnt able to imagine a future without them, so she imagined a future with them," she thought before looking over at the red cat, "Lets see what happens when we go for the cat itself," she said as Asta cut through its middle. But it put itself back together meowing with a smile on its face.

"Not even anti magic worked," she said before the red cat pushed the demon slayer sword handle towards it wielder. The handle hit the side of Astas head and the red lines surrounded his body vanished, "The puppetry it was undone," she thought looking surprised as Asta fell on his back and the sky was no longer dark as the sun shined down on the area.

"Well I guess its time, Vanessa," she said looking towards the thread magic user, "Blood magic, puppet blood," she said as red lines surround Vanessas body as she a pained look on her face.

"Vanessa," said Noelle.

"Your power will make a great addition to my already perfect power," the queen said smiling as red scythe appeared in her right hand as she began to fly towards the red cat, "Destiny you are now in my control," she said before the cat placed its two front paws on her forehead.

The queen then looked surprised as the red lines surrounding Vanessa vanished, the red ground vanished as the people who were restrained fell to the ground as the Red Cross holding them up vanished along with the rest of the spell. The queen of witches herself fell face first onto the ground.

"Looks like its finally over," said Fanzell getting up as Domina and Mariella walked out of the forest.

"Zell your okay," Domina said looking relieved.

"Yeah, im glad to see your both alright," he said smiling with relief.

"I was worried," said Domina smiling up at her Fiancé. Then three of them looked towards Vanessa who looked surprised at the power that was just used, she then watched as the red cat landed on her right shoulder.

"So this is it, the power to control destiny," she thought before looking over at the queen of witches who was staring at the ground.

"How could I have lost, my magic was perfect," she thought finding it hard to believe she had lost. Then she heard the sounds of footsteps as Vanessa stood in front of her.

"I may not know much about this power, how it works or how to control it, but I do know this," said Vanessa as the images of her fellow black bulls siting in a circle and that night sitting next to Magna flashed through her mind, "But I do know its bonded to the people I care about which means for us, theres nothing that ties us together," she said calmly while the queen just stared at the ground looking surprised.

Vanessa then smiled as she looked up at the sky, "Better be ready Magna because I got something to tell you when I make it back," she thought.