Hi everyone, Welcome back to another chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
I don't own Black Clover, but you knew that.
THE BLIND SWORDSMAN
CHAPTER 7
Morning, in Asta's Room
Asta was sitting on his bed with his katana coated in the white energy. He was thinking about what had happened yesterday. He knew it wasn't a dream but he still couldn't believe it.
For the first time ever, He actually managed to "see" the environment.
He remembered it well. From the leaves of the trees, the grass near his feet moved by the wind and the entire front of the Black Bulls base. It may have been brief, but it was enough for him to leave an impression. To say that he was amazed would be an understatement.
He wanted to know... He wanted to know how he was able to do that.
So he has been trying all morning but for some reason it wasn't working. He knows that it requires the white energy to be activated but he doesn't know what else to do from there. He thought about it some more before rubbing his head in frustration.
"Argh! what is this so difficult to do?"
He then sensed someone standing outside of his door and that person was about to knock.
"Come in." The person stopped and just opened the door. "Hello Grey."
"Hello Asta. Everyone's at the breakfast table and I came to get you."
"Ok."
Asta then put his sword away and walked to Grey. He closed his door and Grey, now disguised in her big form, led him to the Dining hall.
They walked into the dining hall and sat down on the table with Magna on the other side of the table and Noelle on Asta's right. Charmy then walked out of the kitchen with an apron on and her sheeps carrying the plates of food.
"Alright everyone, food's ready. Dig in." She happily told everyone there.
As everyone was digging in, Noelle had her attention on Asta, as she was still thinking about their duel yesterday. As she was watching him closely, she noticed that he was acting a bit differently than everyone else. She watched as he was gently tapping in front of him until Charmy came by and pushed the plate towards him. He then her and started to eat.
"Hey Asta. Do you have a hard time seeing?"
"Actually it's not that he has trouble seeing." Magna answered instead as Noelle looked at him with a confused look. "Asta here is blind."
Noelle was wide-eyed by this current news to her. "Wait... You're blind?"
Asta nodded his head in confirmation. Noelle was shocked by this news. Her shocked feeling then turned to realization as she remembered yesterday.
'Oh my god, I challenged a blind man to a fight yesterday.'
Noelle was feeling some guilt knowing that she challenged someone who couldn't see to a fight.
"It's okay. You're not the first." Asta assures her as they continue eating. "So what do magic knights… actually do?"
"Are you seriously asking that?" Magna asked in a menacing tone before reaching across the table and grabbing Asta by the collar. "We protect the country, guard stuff… It's one of the manliest jobs in the world, moron! Why did you want to join in the first place, Huh!"
"Geez, I'm sorry! Now can you let go please?" Asta asked for him.
Magna let go and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that."
"It's sort of like, you know? Protecting the peace… And also meeting the nice men in the process." The drunken witch answered.
"It's a fun job that lets you beat enemies all you want! If it's criminals, you can beat them up good and nobody gets mad at you for it!" Luck answered, punching the air.
"It's a wonderful occupation that my sister respects more than anything. I use the wages to buy her things that she loves." Gauche said while holding a picture of her sister with blood coming down his nose.
"For the Food!" Charmy said as she used Cotton Creation Magic: Sheep Cook To make more food. "You get to eat a lot of food too!"
Grey, still in her big form, pulled out her grimoire and transformed into Asta. "Long story short, it's a good job! We'll go on a mission one day. Looking forward to it!"
"Oh, and speaking of missions… I'm taking you and Asta to your very first." Magna said as everyone was leaving the dining hall. "We are going to be hurting boars!"
Asta and Noelle had a look of shock on their faces.
"Really?! That's a stupid Mission!" Asta said.
"What so stupid about it?!"
"I can take one out with my sword alone!"
"Don't underestimate Boars!"
"You see..." Yami walked to them. "The two of us lost a bet to him. So we promised this old man that we'll do a favor for him, whatever he asked."
"But that means it's not our problem, doesn't it!" Asta said.
"That's right!" Noelle added.
"Go or die. What's it going to be?" Yami asked them in his menacing tone.
"Yeah, we'll go." Asta quickly answered.
"Seems like a good mission to start with." Noelle quickly stated.
Asta and Noelle were outside the base, following Magna.
"Still, it's our first mission. I am psyched!" Asta said excited about his first mission.
"Still, going to some village just to fight some grimy boar?" Noelle responded.
"Got a problem with that?" Magna retaliated.
"Not complaining. I was wondering… Since I can't control my magic, if it would be all right for me to go."
"Don't worry about that! The more missions you go on, that control will take care of itself."
"If you insist, then, I'll go with you!" Noelle said with determination.
"Great! Now since Finral can't take us there, we'll have to go by broom."
"Except that I can't fly." Asta stated.
"Neither can I." Noelle also stated.
Magna gave them a deadpan expression.
"Whaaaaaaat!? That's one of the easiest things to do! How!?"
"It's because I have no magic."
"And I can't control magic."
"Well, there's no helping it. I guess I'll have to show you… My sweet ride! Her name is Crazy Cyclone!"
The Crazy Cyclone was Magna's magic broom. It had the appearance of a bull skeleton, with a sunglass-wearing skull as its headpiece. Its shaft is shaped like a spine with a semi-circular saddle, with four pairs of ribs on the sides and a pair of purple fur balls at the base of the saddle. At the end of the broom, it has a bundle of bristles.
"This is it?!" Noelle said.
"I know you wouldn't be able to see its beauty. What do you think, Asta?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't… Oh right. Just hope on." They all got on the Crazy Cyclone. Magna in the front, Noelle in the middle and Asta in the back.
"Alright… here we gooo!" Magna said as he was struggling to lift from the ground.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Noelle asked with some concern.
"A man never goes back on his word!" Magna then released mana into his cyclone and the cyclone launched in the air.
The 3 magic knights are flying in the air and over the landscape below them.
"Hey! Fly a bit better, would you?!" Noelle said, holding on a bit too close.
"Hey! Don't get so clingy!"
"H-hey, can you two not... move around so much?" Asta asked them with a nervous tone, which Noelle and Magna seemed to notice. They also noticed that he was holding on a bit too tight.
"Hey, are you okay?" Magna asked.
"I'm not used to being this high up. My senses are in a bit of a panic."
Noelle raised her brow. "Senses?"
"Because I am blind, my senses can do more than most people's." Asta answered. Noelle was shocked yet curious by what he meant by that. "But right now, It's like I'm floating in nothing."
"Don't worry Asta, we're here." Magna landed the Cyclone and they hopped off. Asta was relieved that they landed on solid ground. Magna looked and noticed that there was a mist in front of their path. "What the hell..."
As Asta calmed down, his senses picked up on the mist and sensed the mana in it. "Hey, this isn't a regular mist."
Asta then pulled out his Demon-Slayer Sword and cut the mist, clearing it completely. As the mist vanished, the 3 magic knights saw a man standing in front of a group of people. The man had icicles in the air aiming down on the villagers who were on their knees in fear, with some praying and others holding their children close. Magna and Noelle were shocked by the fear they were seeing while Asta was feeling it all.
"Commence Execution."
The sharp ice started to fall down and Asta and Magna ran towards them. The villagers closed their eyes, waiting for their deaths but were saved as Magna unleashed Fire Magic: Explosive Scattershot, releasing a barrage of fireballs, destroying the icicles in the process.
The villagers opened their eyes and realized that they were saved by a magic knight squad as Asta, Magna and Noelle walked towards them.
"What's going on here..." Magna said before he saw the boy crying over a person on the ground.
"Grandpa, your prayers have been answered..." The boy said.
Magna then looked to see that it was the man that won against Yami in a bet. Magna called for him before the realization hit him.
The man that won the bet was dead.
Magna then glared at the perpetrator and his men. "Was it you!?"
"How dare you throw off the schedule? In three seconds, everyone dies." He calmly said as he then created a large ice attack and threw it at them.
Magna saw how big the attack was. 'Crap. I don't have enough magic to...'
Before Magna could finish his thought, Asta jumped in the front with his sword still in hand and cut the large spell vertically, missing the villagers.
When everything was going down, Asta was overwhelmed by the emotions of the people around him. The terror that the people felt thinking they were going to die, the distress of the crying children and lastly, the helplessness that Magna felt when he realized that he couldn't defend against the attack. As Asta was picking up on all these negative emotions, he realized how much sorrow that these people were in.
And he hated it.
He hated how these perpetrators were attacking these people, knowing that they didn't have enough mana to defend themselves. How the men, women and children were scared that they were about to lose their lives, with a life already lost. How despite all of that, the main perpetrator didn't care. By what Asta read, he didn't even give a single damn about their lives. Asta looked at the perpetrators with his sword in hand and a look of anger.
"You're going down!"