Chapter 40: The Painful Past
Disclaimer:
Hey guys, I've been gone for a while… I just hit a mental block with this fan fic and didn't know how to take it further, but now I'm back! I'm thinking of doing a week-long update in the very near future, but i just need a bit of time! So for now, enjoy this :P
A few days had passed since Asta met and spoke with the spirit of Acier Silva. Asta managed to exorcise the curse she had, which was due to the devil, Megicula. After returning from that, the magicless mage went over to Mimosa's makeshift room and asked her if she could heal him.
Although Mimosa did not know the reasoning behind Asta's injuries, she thought it was just intense training as usual that did this to him so she happily obliged. Unknown to her, it was actually the effect of the curse removal that did such a number on him.
The days after were filled with training sessions for the majority of the day. The newly rescued mages, Langris, Nebra, and Gordon had also joined in with the training and the former two had begun to slowly change their overly prideful attitudes.
Asta was busy trying to master his weapon control when he took a slight break. "How long do you think it'll be till we can bust through that gate, Liebe?" The ashen-haired mage asked whilst he took a sip of the Underworld's fruit, that surprisingly had water stored inside of it.
"…" Liebe did not respond to Asta's question. Instead, he was mulling over something as he had been for the majority of the time he had been in the Underworld.
"Liebe?" Asta asked again, starting to worry about the devil's actions and mannerisms that he's come to notice. The boy had thought to himself that there was something occupying Liebe's mind as well as him hiding some things.
"… Hm, what is it?" The Anti-Magic Devil asked in a rude tone of voice, not knowing that Asta was beginning to get frustrated from the lack of communication between them.
The boy started to walk off into the distance and rested himself against a boulder that was on the floor. "Look, Liebe. Tell me what's going on. There's clearly something troubling you". Asta asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I have… nothing to say" the devil responded back in a rude manner.
"Spill it. Since we've come here you've said some weird stuff. There was that argument with Captain Fuegoleon. You also have a hatred for royals and nobles, though I do understand that as they can be horrible. Also, I remember you saying something about Noelle's necklace back in the throne room! So, tell me, please." Asta begged.
It wasn't that Asta wanted to know the details due to sheer curiosity, it was because he genuinely cared for the Devil that he has come to know and call a friend. The Black Bull could tell by its ki that something was troubling him too, so he wanted to help in anyway he could. Even if it was just to listen to Liebe's troubles.
"… I do need to tell him about her". Liebe thought to himself before responding to Asta. "Fine. I guess you deserve to know… but I'll have to tell you from the start. Don't go off falling asleep or anything, brat…".
Asta, much happier now that Liebe decided to entrust him with whatever was troubling him, sat upright instead of slouching against the boulder. He was ready for whatever he had in store.
Though, in fact, he definitely was not ready…
"Since we have our contract, I can share my memories with you. Just be warned…". Liebe closed his eyes and formed a direct link from his brain to Asta's. "This is… my life".
The area was dark and dusty with the only source of light being the red hot and flowing lavafalls and lava lakes that surrounded the area. On the right, was a small and quaint house that did not stand out at all. It was a dark, brown colour and had a broken roof with a crooked door. On the left, there were plants sprouting out from the ground and on the end of their stems was an abundance of purple fruits. The area was also filled to the brim with tall, thick trees.
It was where Liebe lived.
"This place… it's the same as where we're in right now!" Asta commented on the surroundings and made the link that the area was the same.
"… Do you not remember that I said… this is where I once lived?" Liebe replied in a bored tone, rolling his eyes to the right and yawning.
"Oh right, yeah". The mage sounded defeated as he face palmed.
The memory resumed, though it was now in 3rd person.
Liebe could be seen skipping around happily as he went from picking the purple fruits to hopping around in circles. It seemed like he was genuinely happy, although he lived alone. Liebe was also beautifully humming some sort of song to itself, although it sounded very different to how he spoke in present time. The small devil's voice was clear and not raspy at all.
This wasn't the only thing that Asta noticed about Liebe. It was the fact of how small the Anti-Magic Devil was back when he lived in the Underworld. In human measurements, it seemed like he was either three or four years old. Liebe had short, but messy white hair and a small pair of wings sprouting from his back. The rest of the features, such as the tail and black lines going through his eyes were the same as he was now.
"You… were kind of cute back then". Asta giggled and smirked as he teased the devil.
"Sh-shut it…". Liebe waved the embarrassing comment away as it was nothing.
A day had passed in the Underworld and Liebe woke up to the sound and smell of burning smoke right outside his house. He lept out of bed and left his small house to see something shocking. The area surrounding his house was on fire.
The trees had started to burn down, and the charred remains of the dark-brown bark were falling on to the floor, crumbling further as they smashed into the ground. The plants were all burning too. Upon closer inspection of the carnage, you could see that the stems that the fruit sprouted from looked to be cut on purpose. The plants and trees were fire-resistant considering they grew around lava and fire, but this attack was caused by something that had immense magical power which completely overwrote that rule.
"Woah, th-this is terrible! Who would do this!" Asta felt his voice shake as he was feeling anger and sadness.
Liebe was running around frantically, looking for anything to douse the flames with. He thought to hurl a group of stones or rocks towards the flames to snuff them out. He went to throw them, but his arms gave way as he couldn't lift them high enough to throw. Liebe's strength was not there at all. The small devil then thought to crack open the soft, purple fruits that would have fallen from the sabotaged plants. The liquid from them would be able to extinguish the flames, but as he ran to pick them up, he saw that they were crushed and trampled on, making the liquid escape and dry up from the warm floor they touched.
Liebe started to cry, not knowing what to do. His days of happiness just frolicking around the area, tending to the plants, and playing games like an innocent child, were now over because of this heinous sabotage.
Asta gulped as he witnessed these memories. He then asked a question that he had though about since he saw Liebe struggling. "Um, sorry if this is insensitive but couldn't you use your Anti-Magic to remove the flames? I assume they were Flame Magic…" the ashen-haired Bull wondered. However, the response that he got from Liebe shocked him to the core and he couldn't find the right words to express what he was thinking.
"I… didn't have my Anti-Magic back then…". Liebe gulped as he had a pain in his throat from witnessing these memories again.
Liebe started to sob as the destructive flames around him consumed everything he had. He tried to wipe his tears that were overflowing from his eyes, but it was futile. The tears wouldn't stop.
An hour had passed, and the flames began to die out. They had done their job and what was left were charred remains of Liebe's life. He got up and tried to see if anything had survived, no matter how small it was, he wanted to see if anything was salvageable. As he walked around, he heard a slight cackle which then turned into a heavy laughter. Liebe looked all around and then he saw what was making the sounds.
It was another devil.
The devil raised its hand to wave at the small devil. "Yo! How's it going…" the being giggled in an eerie way, staring deep into Liebe's tear-stained skin.
The small devil started to back up as he had no idea who this devil was and what it wanted with him. Liebe had not made any enemies as he simply lived alone and away from other devils that were in the Underworld.
"You might be thinking… who did this to your home. Well, it was… me!" the devil cackled and spat towards the ground. Its spit hitting the crushed purple fruits beneath his foot, soiling them even further. "Actually, that's not… entirely right. I forced some Metav devil to use his Alteration Magic to change the terrain into violent flames… I wonder where he is now".
The small Liebe widened his eyes in disbelief and shock. He did not understand why anyone would do something like this to him and he started to sob once more as he tried to run away from the devil.
Without even a second passing, the devil was right behind the defenceless Liebe and he picked him up by its right wing, causing a great deal of pain to the young devil.
"Just what is your name… freak?" The devil asked, leaning into Liebe's face, and intimidating him further.
Liebe was too scared but realised that if he didn't answer, something worse might happen to him and so he opened his mouth and decided to answer. "I… don't have one" Liebe replied which confused the devil.
It also confused Asta. He was busy tearing up seeing and witnessing what had happened to Liebe, but he still managed to focus on Liebe's revelation about him having no name. "You… didn't have a name? Then where did Liebe come from?".
"It came from…" he started to sob.
Asta, not wanting to add to the pain, decided to leave it for the time being and continued to see Liebe's memories.
"Huh? You have no name? Well, I guess… no one would want to give a name to a… magicless freak like you…". The devil taunted Liebe and then proceeded to spit on his forehead, causing the spit to trickle down his face and onto the floor.
The defenceless Liebe couldn't do anything to save himself. His wing was caught by the devil's hands. Not to mention, his whole life had just been destroyed by one swift attack.
The devil started to scratch its chin as if it was thinking of something to do. "Ah! I've got it… I have a special place I can take you… a new home, if you will. You can… test it for me". It cackled and coughed violently, hurling up black phlegm in the process.
Liebe, being the poor innocent boy he was, nodded his head in agreement. A part of him wanted to believe this was some sort of extravagant act to make him change homes for some reason and that this was the only way to go about it.
Poor, innocent Liebe. How wrong he was…
Half an hour to an hour passed and Liebe was thrown into the middle of a wide and open area he had never seen before in his life. His eyes lit up a bright red as he saw flowing lavafalls next to him. Liebe looked around quickly to get a look of his surroundings and spotted three, large beings towering over him and looking down at the small devil.
The three beings that stood towering over him were all huge in size. They all had two horns forming out of their foreheads as well as two jet-black wings that stretched across the room. They were all similar to one another in how they looked but there were some minor differences like the shape of their horns and wing size.
Liebe thought to himself "n-no… they're all… high-ranking devils!" He realised and tried to scurry away although it was useless.
"This is who we're going to… test our hypothesis on…?" One devil on the right questioned, scratching its chin, staring deep into Liebe's eyes.
"Do… whatever. We need to know if it is possible to go through". The other devil on the left said, sounding like it had no care in the world.
"C'mon… it'll be fun!" The devil who brought Liebe shouted as it licked its lips and smiled with its fangs protruding out of its mouth.
Liebe was sat, cowering in a defensive position. He did not understand why he was being picked on and what he did to these devils for him to suffer so much. The small devil's body was shaking from fear, and his lips quivering.
"Oh! How rude of me to not introduce myself after asking for your name… I'm Megicula". The name of the devil who turned Liebe's life upside down was revealed.
Asta stood up immediately, ready to fight but realised he couldn't make any sort of difference as it was just a memory.
"… Now you understand my hatred for Megicula, and other devils…". Liebe spoke in a defeated tone of voice, looking down at the floor and kicking a pebble away.
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't know back then. Now, I understand". The Bull tried to offer sympathy to Liebe.
"Well, let's get you to your new home!" Megicula screamed in hysteria. The devil picked Liebe up by the throat, grasping its claw-like hands around the young devil's small neck and brought him towards the protective seal of the portal in front of him.
It was the same area where Asta and the others tried to break past the portal connecting both worlds.
Liebe struggled as hard as he could, but it made no difference at all. The small devil started to froth at the mouth due to how hard Megicula grabbed his throat and he struggled to breathe.
"Just… stop struggling, PLEASE!" Megicula tightened its grasp on Liebe's throat, crushing it in the process. Blood spurted out of the devil's throat and he started squirming with no control. Tears built up and fell continuously.
Megicula then put Liebe forward right at the protective seal, slowly moving back and forth with him, scaring him with the thought of being pulverised by the mana seal.
Liebe tried to speak and managed a few words before blood gushed out from his throat once more. "Please… no, I'll die-". His voice was now completely different. He sounded raspy and unclear with a distorted tone.
"Oh… I don't think you will. You have no mana!" The Curse-Warding Devil shouted as it brought his right hand backwards and then proceeded to launch Liebe straight towards the portal.
Liebe flew through the air and managed to meet with the mana barrier. Though he thought he would be disintegrated as soon as he touched the seal, he started to go through it. Liebe turned his face around to face the three devils.
"I'll… never forgive you…". Were Liebe's last thoughts as he phased through the portal, disappearing completely from view.
The memory stopped.
"You wanted to know about me… well, there it is". The Anti-Magic Devil said with an upset voice. He had been silently crying without Asta noticing.
Asta was crying too, though he made no effort to hide it. "L-Liebe… I had no idea. If only… I had known-" the boy was interrupted.
"You couldn't have done anything; this was way in the past…" he turned to face his host. "Now you understand why… I was so secretive. My past is nothing short of torment…".
"I… I'm so sorry you went through that…". Asta tried to wipe his tears away. He managed to do so, but his squad robe and clothes were drenched in them.
Liebe waved his apologies away. It wasn't because he didn't appreciate Asta's thoughtfulness, but because he knew none of this was his fault. Asta just felt sorry because of his caring heart.
"Well… there's more to this if you want to know. What I did in the Overworld and who I met-" Liebe started but stopped as Asta started to respond.
"No… no more. I don't want you to relive those horrible memories again. Thank you for trusting me so much with this. How about we go back to the others and continue this conversation some other time?" The Black Bull offered to which Liebe accepted.
"This brat… he knew what seeing those memories did to me. I guess from that ki thing or whatever it is… he really does care" Liebe thought whilst tearing up, but slightly smiling in the process. He returned to the Five-Leaf grimoire as Asta headed away.
Whilst Asta was walking away he was thinking about only one thing. "Who and where are those other two devils...". He clutched his fist in intense anger.
The Bull managed to get back to the base and saw everyone gathered around a fire. They were eating and telling stories. Their positive mood was almost an antithesis to how Asta and Liebe had felt just a few minutes prior, but with all of them now converging, the negative mood had started to lift from the two.
"Hey, Asta!" Mimosa waved to her companion as she asked him to sit down and socialise. "Why don't you have some food, you've been away for a long time". She smiled and handed him some of the purple fruits on a glass plate made from Hamon's Glass Magic.
"Th-thank you, Mimosa… oh wait! I have someone who wants to join in the fun". Asta smirked, as he called out for Liebe to which he phased out from the grimoire and presented himself to the rest.
"Brat! What… are you-" Liebe started but was interrupted by the fruits being shoved into his mouth. He turned to face who it was, and it was her.
"Haha! Here, you must be hungry… oh wait, you don't have 'life force'. Hmm, still I bet you want some of this". It was Mimosa who was feeding Liebe the fruit. Even though Liebe couldn't even taste the fruit due to the lack of the 'life force' she still wanted him to be involved with everyone.
Asta started to laugh too. "See, Liebe. Your friend Mimosa really wants you to join in on the fun!" he joked. He also put an emphasis on 'friend' as he said it and nudged Liebe in the hips, teasing him in the process.
Liebe started to get embarrassed but reluctantly continued with the socialising.
Asta thought about all the hurt and turmoil Liebe had gone through in the past. He could even sense there was more of it to come in Liebe's other memories, but he decided to forget about it for the moment and enjoy the company he had.
"That's right, Liebe. You have people who care for you here and you'll have people who care for you in the Overworld. No matter what, we'll get back and I want to see you happy again. We're here for you… friend". Asta thought as he asked for more food.
Unknown to Asta and even Liebe, as they were busy socialising and having fun, a singular page in the Bull's grimoire started to glow a slight tint of crimson red…
NOTES:
Finally, some backstory for Liebe. Quite tragic wasn't it But now the reasoning for Liebe's intense hatred for devils has been revealed… or is there more to the hate?
Asta showing Liebe that there will be people who care for him even if he thinks that no one could like a devil :P
WE WILL get more of Liebe's backstory but I have a plan in place of when and how it'll be revealed so you guys will have to wait :P