Hi! Thanks for your support on the first chapter! I hope I can keep consistent with these and satisfy with a good chapter weekly/bi-weekly. I hope and thank for any continued support and hope any new reads consider any feedback or support too! It's all very appreciated! :D

"Not yet!" Asta roared at the top of his lungs as he bolted down the corridor, passing Mimosa with rags in hand as fast as a strike of lightning itself. He pressured his hands against the floor as much as he could force himself to and forced the cloth to pick up every molecule of grime until he felt like he could practically see himself in the floor.

Mimosa watched on at the rampaging Asta as she lightly blushed, "Even for mundane activities, he's putting in all he has! He's so determined for perfection! I'm so thankful I get to see him outside of the battlefield in such a way too...this break has given me so much time to grow closer it feels!"

"Lost in thought?" Noelle questioned as she interrupted Mimosa's fantasies, spotting the blush in her cheeks as she rolled her eyes.

"O-oh yes! I was just relaxing here! Asta was cleaning up so I just zoned out watching..." Mismosa blushed slightly more as she turned her head away.

Noelle puffed her cheeks and clenched her fists, "She was fantasising about him! She thinks she can admire him so and get away with it?! She's been trying to do this the entire time we let her stay around here! I knew it was a mistake...even if it wasn't my proposal..." "W-well, I guess we best leave him to it! Why don't we...erm..." Noelle spoke aloud.

"Train?" Mimosa suggested with a look of wonder.

"Sure! I'll show you how much stronger I've become now!" Noelle confidently grinned before thinking to herself again, "great! That'll get her away from him! J-just to keep Asta undistracted of course!"

Asta came blitzing back down the corridor again, duster in hand as he perfected everything in sight, "Did I hear training!? Me and Yami are doing some soon too! He's finally letting me face him!"

Noelle's jaw unhinged itself as she intercepted Asta to drag him close, "You're fighting Yami!? He's never let one of us face him once! Not even Luck!"

"I know right! It caught me by surprise since he's probably gonna butcher me, but I'll be giving him my all anyway!" Asta cheered.

Noelle was jaw-dropped as she became mindless for a few moments, "We're soon going to war and Yami's going to get to him before anybody else! Does he want to kill him after a year of frustrations already?!"

"He's going against the Captain? How brave of him!" Mimosa blushed once more, "I have to give him all my support!" She leaned inward and intervened in Noelle's grasp of the boy as she offered him a brief hug, "Good luck Asta! I believe in you!"

"Th-thanks!" Asta slightly blushed too as he pulled a wide, genuine smile, "I won't let you down! I'll prove that I am going to become the Wizard King!"

Grumpily, Noelle intervened again as she stood between the two of them to draw Asta's attention, "You better not Stupidsta! You've gone on about it so much, so it's about time to make that statement to the world! First, by winning this war!"

"Right!" Asta confidently nodded as he clenched his fists, "the Spade Kingdom won't know what hit them! They wanted war, they'll have asked for too much!" Asta quickly began away though, leaving the two behind as he seemed even more ecstatic with energy, "Anyway, it's time to do this! Thanks for all the encouragement, it won't go to waste!"

"I-it better not you dummy! I'm holding you to it from now on!" Noelle shouted down the corridor as he sped away from sight.

"D-do your best!" Mimosa also encouraged as Asta blitzed away, leaving all senses baron once more.

"I see..." Sighed Yami as he took another puff of his cigarette, "guess the kid's been hiding a lot for himself, not that I blame him I guess. Being open is hard."

Vanessa looked down slightly, "I know it's not the coolest thing for me to mention this behind his back but as captain, I thought it'd be best if you knew. It's been bleeding into his usual character at times it seems, and it won't be the last time it does I worry."

Yami paused for a moment to think before he turned once again to respond, "Don't worry, I've been noticing, I won't tell him that you spilt the information either, though I don't think he'd care. My eyes are on him most of the time like a hawk, so I'm picking up any changes too."

"Who would have thought the great Yami would care about someone to such an extent," Vanessa lightly chuckled.

"Well he's a problem child so someone has to have eyes on him," Yami sighed, "a really skilled problem child at that. Who would have thought there'd be such a resilient character in times like this?"

Vanessa leaned further up from her seat as she seemed more anxious, "Well, do you have any idea what it could be that's causing this? It's been rather abrupt after all."

"No, it's not been so abrupt at all I think," Yami began as Vanessa expressed a confused look, "looking back so long ago, I'm sure you'll have seen it too. Ever since that trip into the Witch's Forest you bunch had without me."

"That's when Asta first attained that demon-like form to beat Ladros. He definitely gave off a different aura. It was hard to tell what was going on because I was so close to unconsciousness, but from what I could feel, it was ominous I suppose. Maybe it's something to do with that form, though he's practically made that second nature for a while now so it's hard to draw the line," Vanessa deduced as she thought long and carefully.

Yami flicked his cigarette aside as he began to light a new one, "What would ya do without him eh? He's a loud mouth alright but steps up when it matters most."

Vanessa looked down once more as she mentally recalled the numerous times she was saved by the little rut, "I guess. Why do you think we love clinging to him so much?"

"Anyway," Yami cut back in, "he's only turned to this during the time he's been sparking with that black form. It's obviously caused by the devil inside of him the Wizard King found out about. It only spells bad things for us."

"The devil inside Asta..." Vanessa reflected, "to think something so despicable could reside in such a pure-hearted soul." "So you're saying the devil is causing this? But why would it be toying with him now?" Vanessa spoke aloud once more.

Yami took yet another puff as he exhaled a dull grey cloud, like that of a volcano's smoke, "It must be trying to take over his body, it's the only reason to my mind. Given what's ahead of us, it may be choosing it's timing perfectly. If this war goes to pot, and he gets vulnerable, it'll seize him."

Vanessa felt even more concerned than before, "What can we do? Though it's glum, he's guaranteed to reach his limit like that against such tough opponents."

"I know, this isn't a war we could win without surpassing our limits. Even as we are, everything is glum until we test ourselves out there again," Yami puffed, "and yes, he's guaranteed to reach his limit, as am I. If he's not carefully monitored, he'll lose it."

"He's just a little boy though! I don't understand why he's being victimised so early into his life," Vanessa sadly sighed.

Yami began to stretch out his joints, "The boy has no magic, and he's already worked into physique perfection. He'll develop hardly any more further down his life, without the devil strength regardless, so it wants to take the vessel whole. That's at least the lines I can draw, I ain't a devil so I sadly can't relate to it." He let out a slight tired groan as he looked directly towards the mage, "So to prevent him exploding into a pain in the ass, he's under your care from now."

There was a brief silence for a moment as the words were slowly processed, "WAIT ME!?" Yami nodded. "Why me!? Surely there's someone more responsible! I'm a drunk!"

"Let me list it for ya: Luck and Magna are too preoccupied with each other; Noelle would only bully him, though she's still second choice; Grey is too shy; Charmy is too focused on her food; Gordon is too creepy; Zora is too irresponsible; Henry needs to stay here; Gauche only cares about his sister and Finral just wants the ladies," Yami took a deep breath and gave a serious glare.

"What about Nero! She still even sleeps in the same room most of the time!" Vanessa pointed out.

Yami rolled his eyes in disapproval, "He's not been as personally involved on the battlefield. He was just a tool for her for a while so their bond is still beginning to properly flourish. Given what you've both gone through together, I didn't expect you to be so against this. Try and not be selfish cause you want a few more drinks."

Vanessa crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks as she looked away, "Fine, I just didn't want to be a baby sitter, never mind possibly end up responsible if he breaks loose. I wouldn't like the burden of knowing I couldn't save him from himself."

"Don't worry," Yami reassured, "even if he slips I'm sure you can bring him back before it's too late. If not, then I'll fight the mischief on my own." Yami turned and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I trust you to look after him. He's only a kid, don't let his life come short."

Vanessa only felt more anxious as she nodded her head, "I'll do my best. Not for me, for him"

"Good, now let's get going, you're coming with us," Yami huffed before yelling out, "OI, KID! YOU BETTER BE DONE! GET DOWN HERE!"

"Here sir!" Asta reported as he appeared within a flash, his eyes as lit as bright as the sun with excitement.

Yami grabbed the boy by his head as he began on his way out with the string mage just behind, "Let's see how you do now them."

As the small group left, it only took a few seconds for the curious batch to nose around the door. Noelle and Mimosa both crashed on top of each other as they blasted through the door, Zora trudging carefully over them as he looked down in pity, "What's with you two hogging around Asta so much, you didn't bolt here until you heard his name called."

"Ah...Marie," Gauche sighed as he mercilessly walked over the two girls to a single seat where he sat down and admired his sibling with a flooded nose of red.

"Hey! Don't walk on royalty!" Noelle roared as she leant up and gave a deathly stare towards the sister complex boy.

Zora shrugged as he still offered no support, "You walk all over us most of the time, guess it's good for you to know how it feels every now and then."

"I'll kill you!" Noelle roared, "why do you focus on me!?"

"I fought with Mimosa," Zora sighed as he helped her up, "she's a good noble at least. Gives me hope that they ain't all trash.

Noelle pulled herself fully up, "Well you won't find trash much worse than you! Anyway, why did Vanessa go with them? I thought it was just Yami and Asta training?"

"Probably to make sure Yami doesn't go too far and kills him, she's got that Rouge cat after all, and she can dodge him out of any other severe hits, the kid's not good at surrendering after all, and he won't give up to Master," Zora shrugged once more as he glared out the doors.

"O-oh no!" Mimosa exclaimed in worry, "he'll get badly damaged against such an opponent! I'd best be there to heal him in case!"

Noelle suddenly seemed alert, "O-oh I'm sure you don-"

"Good idea," Zora interrupted, "guess it's some spying time! Try to keep your mana levels low because I don't fancy being on the menus tonight if we get diced in this.

Mimosa confidently nodded, "Right! I'll be there for Asta when he's hurt!"

Noelle rolled her eyes further, deeply thinking internally, "I'll be the first one to Asta and help him! J-just because I wouldn't want our asset injured! Mimosa won't get in my way!"

"Spying mission is go!" Zora yelled in excitement, "we could be formal about this and watch normally but where's the fun without stealth!?"

"R-right!" Mimosa nodded.

"DON'T AGREE WITH HIM! HE'S CRAZY!" Noelle raged.

The group quickly began out after the first as they darted to catch up, once again leaving the lobby empty and quiet as Gauche was left there in all his bloodiness.

"Are you sure we can win this battle?" Marx asked in uncertainty as he faced opposite of the kid king.

Julius continued his gaze out of the window behind himself as he lost himself in the sun's beauty. The questions of this all continued to reign his mind, "No," he simply answered as he turned himself slightly, "the threat is high as it is, higher than it ever was before. I burdened the Black Bulls with this mission to find out more about these demonic entities, but I see this would have never fully been their mission alone upon catching the broader picture."

"Then if we can't win, what will become of this all? Of all of us?" Marx looked more worried by the second.

Julius took another deep breath and returned to the beautiful light looking upon him in pity, "That's a future I never wish to discover. With the reigning presence of the Spade Kingdom upon us, there is no other option but to see a victory. I hate myself for my weakness now, and only wish such children never would have to suffer through turbulent times like now, but it is a time to put the threat of them to end, whether we would wish to engage or not."

Marx tried to regain his composure, "Right sir."

"The time until war is close now. I've always had the faith that this generation will be the one to bring about the world I dreamt of, and it is now where we'll see if they're truly up to the task," Julius began to think deep into himself as he clenched his fist tightly while retaining his expression, "to think our main hope of the war now is such a young boy. It doesn't feel right, I should be able to stand against this threat too, but my own weakness lead to this. I wasn't enough. Now, the young ones must suffer too, how despicable."

"I sent out the message as ordered, all should be in place soon," Marx affirmed.

Julius didn't even take a glance back as he focused on the light above the mountains, "I see, thank you. Go ensure all is prepared, I need more time to think things through for now."

"Y-yes sir," Marx responded as he began out, leaving with one last glance behind himself as he left all behind.

The King was left there in complete silence as he looked to his desk and lowered himself, staring endlessly into the single page of his potential left for battle, "This war, is the product of humanities errors. And yet again, the only who will truly suffer are the citizens of the future. So much potential, so much of a grand future may be blotted out from the greed of the corrupt. Asta, Yuno, such young children that have aspirations so high… This is where I ask for your support once more where I may not stand. You two are both my biggest hopes for the future I had a vision of long ago. As it is, I cannot see this vision out for myself, so this burden must be passed on to someone else."

He began to fidget around with a knight's chest piece as he spared himself one last thought, "Never would I have imagined a future so grim, and yet so bright. I pray, you can block out this darkness, and rise once more against the nobles."

The small group of Yami, Vanessa and Asta reached deep into the forest as Yami tossed Asta aside, "All right, this'll do now. Prepare yourself, let's see if you can make me sweat."

"This'll be a massacre," Vanessa sighed, "Asta has improved a lot, but so has Yami, they were far enough away in ability as it was before!"

"All right!" Asta cheered as he braced himself, not even transforming as he steadied his Demon-Slayer Sword, "I'm ready, so bring it on!"

Yami chuckled lightly, "Don't tell me you're overconfident, starting in your base strength and one sword!? You're the last person I'd expect to hold back! Don't think I will just because you have a death wish!" He boosted his own aura as he coated his blade in a layer of darkness, that was fierce enough on its own to drive most opponents to submission. All Asta offered though was a confident smile as sweat trickled down his cheek, the wind beginning to pick up in the area.

"We made it just in time to see him get battered!" Zora confidently and sinisterly chuckled.

Noelle's jaw hit the floor as she clawed Zora out of her way for a clearer view, seeing Asta so open and relaxed, "D-does he have a death wish!? I've never seen anyone go against Yami while holding back so much!"

"The difference in their power is unmistakable," Mimosa found as she shuddered where she stood, "there's such a sinister aura about Yami, even when he holds himself back. I believe in Asta, and I'll heal his wounds, but I don't see what damage he can lay to him...even at full power."

Yami glanced back to Vanessa, "Get ready to save him if his overconfidence does show, otherwise he'll be our supper tonight."

"Rodger that, just don't go all out against the poor kid, we all can feel the difference in strength," Vanessa anxiously said.

Yami slowly began towards Asta, "No promises, Mimosa can fix what's left of him after regardless." He entered into concentration as he began to critically observe the kid, "This rascal...he never fails to make me chuckle! To think one hat could hold so many surprises amazes even the most critical parts of me. He's unique alright, it's why I picked him in the first place. Either my foresight was a notch above the rest, or my luck was insane when I fished this kid out."

"I'm not overconfident, sir! It's part of my plan! I'd never intend to hold back against you! I'm resisting the urge to not give 100% of my strength right away!" Asta explained as he began forth too.

"Is that so?" Yami thought to himself once more, "he's acting more strategic for once. I'd expect him to only act this way against new opponents, but he knows I'd only dish out too much punishment for him to handle if he aimlessly came for me. It's a good start, but it's all meaningless if he can't even execute this plan of his."

Asta suddenly lurched forward, bracing for a swing as he left himself wide open, "Take this!"

Yami instinctively took a leap backwards as he spared a moment for himself to think, "He's open as hell and swinging a basic blow, he's trying to make me underestimate his moves to try and throw me off and open me up. I just need to keep a cool de-" His thoughts were suddenly disrupted as Asta gained distance in a faster time than he expected, cutting alongside Yami in an instant with his swing still in action.

"Chance!" Asta exclaimed as he gave all his momentum into the swing. Yami reacted quickly enough to block the blow to his side, blasting him off to the side as the impact left a long trail in the ground. Everyone was left speechless already as Asta had began on the offensive, forcing action from his opponent.

"WHAAAAAAAAT!" Noelle roared before being swiftly silenced by Mimosa before breaking her off again, "how's he already forced Yami to block!?

Mimosa gazed on in awe as she bubbled with excitement, "H-he's amazing! He's thinking through this with his head and trying to outsmart Yami to open up an attack!"

Zora rubbed his chin curiously as he focused his attention further on the battle, "It's only one block, but it's still impressive I suppose. Everybody probably expected him to be damaged on the first rally."

"Guess he's getting better at battle strategy. If I reacted even slightly slower, he would have got a strong hit in on me. He forced me into a retreat by knowing I'd see through him, then he surpassed my expectations to try and catch me before I had time to think," Yami thought to himself as he stayed on his guard. "Guess you'll give me a bit more entertainment than I expected! Well done!" Yami praised.

Asta only maintained his serious expression as he kept moving forwards looking completely open with his sword by his side, "Nobody ever had expectations of me through my whole life before the Wizard King. Before then, I was just a no magic idiot that was expected to amount to nothing."

"Asta..." Vanessa thought sympathetically as she looked deeper into the little boy, "I can't imagine the feeling of worthlessness in such a way...and yet...he overcame it all..."

"Now that I have expectations though, just like with my limits, I'll surpass them all!" the no magic idiot raged as he ploughed forth.

Yami struck his blade sidewards as he blasted out a dark wave straight for Asta's stomach, "I like that attitude!" The blow was cut through with little effort though as he sliced upwards, immediately vaporising the whole attack, "As expected, it'll take a lot more to halt those swords in his arsenal. I can't fall into the same attack as last time, but he knows that's part of my mind. He'll think I'm focusing on my guard on my sides and go for a straight attack!"

Asta made a leap as he smashed down an overhead swing which was confidently blocked this time around, "Bingo!" Yami chuckled as Asta grew a confident face, suddenly kicking while still mid-air to try and hit the face of his opponent. Yami easily evaded the attack as he flicked his sword to the side with Asta's blade, lowering them as the scrapes of one blade scratching the other cried into the ears of all. Seizing his vulnerability, Yami grasped Asta by his shirt and smashed his skull against the other, leaving Asta to let out a screech of pain briefly as he got away to recover back onto his two feet.

"Asta!" Mimosa yelled in horror as she covered her mouth, spotting the fresh trail of blood leaking down his entire face from the lines separating his hair and clear skin.

"Damn, that's a nasty one, guess the momentum he had was only for the start," Zora sighed.

Immediately, Asta felt the warm rush of blood down his forehead as his grimoire appeared by his side again, allowing him to pull out his Demon-Destroyer Sword swiftly as he steadied his stance, "Well guess it's time to step it up. I may not have drawn the first blood, but I'm not giving up yet. Not yet!"

Yami puffed out another smoke as he pulled a more confident look, as if he had complete control now, "Guess it's time for me to go on the offensive. I won't just keep countering."

Asta braced his body as he stayed on his guard, but even that was faltered as Yami suddenly appeared in front of him, covering the distance between them in an instant. The captain struck a basic blow through slashing his blade vertically as it was barely blocked once again, digging Asta through the ground as he left a long, deep trail trail behind like a trench.

"My guard can manage his basic slashes, but even they are ridiculously effective! I need to somehow keep my flow around him without it getting disrupted by a forced guard!" Asta deduced as he recovered from his position, "watching Yami fighting, he always manages a perfect balance between offence and defence. The only times I saw him being overwhelmed was by there being too much to defend against, or by there being too destructive of an attack to negate. I need to use my two swords to force an opening, there's positions I can work myself into where he won't be able to defend against them both. There's either that, or using my dark form to overwhelm him in speed with the fact of my extra weapon."

"Don't think too hard! I know you'll end up popping something in your flimsy mechanism!" Yami teased, "though it does seem he's formulating a new plan. He's arguably seen the most out of me fighting seriously in the Black Bulls so I guess it's logical he'd be able to come up with the best plan compared to them all. Then again, I've seen him fight much more than he has of me, so I still have another, though minimal advantage here. Judging by his ability against Vetto, he won't be easy to drop at all, even if that's a long ago event for him by now. No matter what I put in, the only way to really stop the kid would be to knock him out or kill him, which I don't really fancy either of really."

Vanessa stayed more on edge, ready to rescue Asta on the worst-case scenario, "It's insanity how serious they both are! It's not just a game about their raw strength at the minute, they're trying to out-wit and out-smart one another too!"

Nero came down from above, suddenly transforming from bird to human alongside Vanessa, "What's all this commotion? I overlaid for once and couldn't find any of you other than for the creepy bunches."

"Oh! Nero!" Vanessa proclaimed in bewilderment from the sudden appearance, "Yami's just having a head-to-head fight with Asta to measure his strength now compared to where he was."

"Then I'm surprised he's not dead yet," Nero coldly said.

Vanessa sweat slightly, "Still just as cruel as always to him then?"

Nero shook her head, "I'm only surprised because the old Asta would have gone in with no plan and got methodically butchered, he's clearly changed from where he was and become more competent tactically."

"I'll just consider it a hidden compliment then," Vanessa sighed as she diverted attention back to the battle at hand.

"Time to test the waters," Asta huffed as he began to rush forth, as did Yami. Asta leapt up again, formulating a similar approach as last time as he swung down his Destroyer's sword with a full-momentum swing. Yami easily blocked the blow as he prepared to counter once again. He was beaten to the next move though as Asta immediately followed up on his black blow, slashing his other sword across the area of Yami's chest. He himself had barely retreated back in time as it came within an inch or so of him, slashing his vest.

"Oi! You're paying with your monthly funds for a new vest, now I've only got ninety-nine undamaged ones," Yami groaned as he swiped away both swords in a single push.

Asta took a brief step back before beginning a run again, running wide around Yami in circles while waiting to strike, "Aw come on, at least you can keep it to remember that one time a Bull of yours managed to land a blow on you!"

Yami didn't even move as he occasionally turned his head to watch Asta run around, "Is that your endgame in this? I'll say it now, you won't land a hit on my body kid, no other Bull has before."

"There's always a first!" Asta exclaimed as he rushed in from behind, leaping into the air and holding both swords together as he prepared to strike with both at once. He received an effortless response though, as Yami performed a basic turn and clashed their blades.

"There is, but you need to up the intensity, this is too slow for my liking," Yami shrugged as Asta flipped away from him, "let's move from the warm-up to the real deal already."

Excitedly, Asta nodded violently, "You took the words from my mouth!"

The two grinned at one another as the wind began to pick up in the area once more, "This battle can't last forever so I'd rather win sooner rather than later," Yami yawned as he finally seemed more serious.

"It's impossible to believe these two! How is Asta so relaxed about his situation!? When Yami gets serious, he's done for!" Noelle groaned, "he should know better than anybody!"

"He's so brave!" Mimosa admired.

Yami steadied his sword as his overall presence felt less restricted, "Still not gonna enter that special form? Don't blame me if you fall before you get the chance to try now!"

Asta smiled confidently as he held the Slayer sword as a guard to his right, "I'll use my left as a bait he'll expect since it's so open, meaning with my guard to my le-"

"Stop smiling kid!" Yami coldly said as he clobbered Asta in an instant, straight into his face, "we're fighting like grown-ups now."

"Crap! I'm overthinking, I've gotta let instincts take over a little, or I'll end up a punching bag! I don't need to worry about transforming into my last resort at least, it's part of me now virtually," Asta huffed as he stayed fully guarded with Yami approaching, "he's impossible to read!" He felt a bruise where Yami had struck him so cheaply, "But regardless, that's the last time I drop my guard."

"You haven't had to save him yet then?" Nero questioned.

Vanessa shook her head once more, "Not yet, but I fear I'll have to soon. Asta's losing his edge."

Nero examined closely as she analysed Asta, "He's finding it difficult to be so thoughtful with so much going on at once. Ironically, he seems to be reading too deep into his enemies moves, at a time like this it would be a blessing for someone of his nature to have an ability like Mana Zone. He in general becomes more sloppy the more exhausted he gets, while his will keeps him getting up most of the time, the more he gets up, the reduced amount of time he lasts each round."

"Maybe you've not just been creepily staying with him then," Vanessa sighed,

"Well I do care for Asta now of course, so I analyse his activity most of the time with nothing to do," Nero explained coherently, "I used to just use him as part of my journey, but I ended up closer to him than I expected, he's a good soul," she shrugged.

"And he's the kid I gotta look after," Vanessa sighed to herself, "this just reminds me of how much everybody loves him, will all eyes be in hatred towards me if I let something happen to him? Well, no matter what, I have to keep him safe for now."

The ground leapt up in fear as Asta slammed his larger of the two swords against the ground, forcing Yami to leap as he maintained his progression forwards. The younger boy held his Destroyer above his head, angling it towards Yami's face or neck while his Slayer around his chest, the tip pointing upwards as he prepared to strike straight on with it.

He was read as a book once more though as Yami slammed down at full force, using the moment to instead flip over the blade and slam Asta in the face with the heel of his foot, which felt as solid as iron. The courageous, youthful soul didn't let himself falter though, as he pierced a strike towards any vulnerable spot on sight.

"He tanked the blow and kept his cool to have a shot at me in close-quaters! What a nutter!" Yami chuckled as he flipped away from any potential danger.

"NOT YET!" Asta raged as he immediately dived forth during Yami's retreat, "you're not getting away!" Another fresh stream of blood began down the right side of his face as some made it to edges like the tip of his nose before leaping for freedom into the nature below. During his lurch he carefully thought once more while he had the time, "He keeps attacking my head! He must be trying to make me light-headed to finish me off easier or to make me pass out all together! I'm fine for now, but I can't allow much more damage to the area."

Vanessa's anxiety continued to blossom as she gazed upon Asta's wounds, the same bloody patterns meandering around him as those he suffered against Vetto, "Boy...his perseverance still continuing to shine even against the most ridiculous of opponents."

"ARGHHH!" Asta roared as he struck his smaller weapon sidewards, with Yami being slightly off-put with the power in it as his guard was forced out of position. Expectations still managed to be subverted though as Asta hammered in his larger weapon to pressure his guard further, moving Yami's guard into an uncomfortable position and leaving him open. He quickly capitalised as he released the Destroyer's sword, flinging himself around half a rotation as he aimed yet another strike.

"He's still tricky for sure, but I've got the hang of him now it feels, he needs to up his game further," Yami reflected as he scarcely evaded his attack through making another slight retreat.

Asta concentrated further, "It's not enough. He can work his way out of any situation it feels, cornering him feels practically impossible." Once again, he didn't falter much as he did now feel the impact of Yami's kick seeping in. He remained the instigator again as he rushed forth with both swords by his side as a defensive stance was made by his opposition. He swung both blades at full force against his opponent, as each swing was easily deflected and dodged, no matter the angle as he tried to increase his speed to overwhelm. Ultimately, Yami's technique and confidence was enough to hold him back without a sweat.

"Lousy!" Yami yelled as he found a loop to escape the aimless onslaught. Before Asta even had time to catch his next move, he suddenly suffered an ominous feeling as the shadow of Yami cloaked him. He caught glimpse of an overhead swing as he barely managed to raise his swords in an 'X' shape to guard. It took all his effort to block such a blow, and he felt himself sliding through the ground as his defence was more wavy by the second.

He didn't have to worry much about his swords though, as he suddenly felt the impact of a boot in his face as his defence was shattered. A desperate leap back was taken as he felt a deep graze on his chin, though that was the least of his worries as he was forced back into his defence once more, rotating his Slayer's blade to the side as Yami's weapon pierced directly against the blade, driving Asta even further back as he held no chance of standing his ground. He dug his feet as deep in as he could make himself and managed to slow his retreat ever so slightly, though it wasn't enough.

"He's losing his edge," Zora sighed in disappointment, "he's not adapting enough in his base form and he can't break him down at all. Yami's cool and calculated ability with his weapon is a huge difference between them, Asta has less experience with his blades after all so it's expected."

"Oh, I can't look!" Mimosa shuddered as she covered her eyes, "I hate to see him so damaged and beaten!"

Noelle continued to roll her eyes as she tightly crossed her arms with slightly puffed cheeks, "Still though, he's probably lasted longer than most of us would have, as much as I hate to admit that."

Vanessa readied herself too, as she had a picture image in her mind as to what came next.

"Getting tired? It's never too early to give up. You're never gonna hit me," Yami sighed as he finally split Asta's defence once more, leaving the boy wide open as he fell backwards. He still never gave up though, as he swung his Slayer during his descent, towards Yami's waist. The two never even dropped eye contact with one another as the attack was feeble, and effortlessly blocked.

"CRAP!" Asta thought to himself as he lost all control of the moment. Yami grasped the kid though, blasting him with a full-powered punch, square into his face. He became a rag-doll for a few moments as he rolled like a feather in the wind before regaining a sense of himself. He stabbed both blades into the ground as he recovered in an instant, and he plummeted forth once more. "Shit! I didn't want to get hit in the head again! Never mind get hit with such a forceful blow!"

Yami shook his head in disappointment, "Vanessa!" he called as he prepared to act. Much like a few moves earlier, Asta flung in with his weapons paired together, aiming for a diagonal strike across the chest. They were easily repelled though with a basic strike from Yami as he was left open for yet another time. The captain never held back his brutality though as he kicked the kid in the gut with a strong burst of force, knocking all the wind out of the kid as he was left there, practically done for.

"It's over!" Yami exclaimed as he drove in for one last move, his weapon to the side as he aimed a swift blow for the neck.

Asta's eyes spread wide in horror as he closed them and tensed his body, "I've messed up!"

Before the blow managed to connect, Yami's blade stopped dead in its tracks, only an inch or so away from his tingling skin. Even then, the dread Asta felt was immeasurable. The aura emit from the blade practically was strangling him with its unique feeling. When he drew his eyes closer, he saw the hundreds of threads around the blade which had stopped it from killing him, each one shined beautifully in his eyes as he took a giant gulp.

"That turned from great to dreadful," Yami sighed, "you let the frustrations get to your head, and lost all strategy and flow in the battle. If Vanessa weren't here, I'd have killed you now."

Vanessa watched on with sweat flooding down her face in nervousness, "He's doing his best to push the kid to his limit. He looks hardly even effected by the battle while Asta seems tucked out completely. He's a stubborn boy, but even he's going to realise the seriousness of it all."

Nero looked down in disappointment as she let out a slight huff, "He's come a long way from where he was, but he's still got a long way to go too. I'll help guide him, I want to see him come all the way just as he does, to realise the dream of the Wizard King..." She looked to her beaten companion and offered a soft smile, "I suppose I wouldn't mind having a pet like him for a long time more."

"He's serious about this," Noelle sweat from the distance, as she felt her own body trembling, "he's not just testing his strength, he's waking him up to what's really at stake for himself."

Everyone was feeling the same, cold feeling in the atmosphere as even Zora found himself shaking, "I don't like this feeling, a new level of seriousness just layered on."

Asta clenched his fists and grit his teeth and forced himself out of the path of the blade as Yami released his from Vanessa's threads, "I'm no where near done...I'm just getting riled up!"

"Then show me that!" Yami boomed as he began to excess even more energy as Asta stabbed his Destroyer blade into the ground, holding his hand to his Slayer while swiftly transforming into his black form. He looked plentiful more serious than before as the wind around him intensified. The black mark spread across his right eye as it changed back to its devilish red colour.

"This ki..." Yami thought, "thinking about it, it's the first time I've really seen Asta in this form myself. I faintly remember it from back at the Shadow Palace, but I never got to see him cut that devil with it. This'll be entertaining I guess, and it'll maybe give another advantage to him since I don't know what to expect now."

A more eerie feeling entered the atmosphere as everything around felt much darker and gloomier, rather than being a bright and cheery day. Everything felt a lot more uncertain as everyone watched on in anticipation, the darkness around Asta and general aura becoming more dense and sinister.

Asta stood tall and confident as one of his devil wings gently flapped behind him, "Captain...please don't hold back!"

"You couldn't even scathe me in your base form and yet you want me to give it everything now? That's a ballsy move. Don't think I ever really intended to hold back against you, I've been bubbling for you to show me what you're really made of!" Yami lightly chuckled as he remained on his guard.

Asta responded with a satisfied grin as he felt some fulfilment from his words alone, "I'll defy your expectations! Oh, and by the way..."

"Yeah?" Yami huffed, seeming easger to get started.

"You gonna let that bunch hiding get away with their sneaking?" Asta grinned.

Yami pondered once more, "He's heightened his ki detection ability it seems. He's able to focus on detecting his surroundings as well as focusing on his opponent." "You've come a long way with your ki detection, haven't you? You used to be limited with it, but I suppose you've always been a mostly quick adapter when you put your mind to it. But yeah, I'll deal with them myself after you're wrapped up in bandages from how much I'm going to destroy you."

Asta began to slowly move forward, "Talk like that isn't like you! Are you actually enjoying this?"

"Don't try and get too friendly, kiddo, I'll kill you later if I feel merciful enough not to do it now!" Yami boomed as he prowled forth too.

Asta rested the tips of his left hand fingers upon the handle of his Destroyer sword as he admired it once before departing from it, leaving himself with only one weapon to face with. "Come on then! I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Gladly!" Yami yelled as he began forth, striding forth with his blade out wide. The darkness clearly enveloped the blade as it looked to coat it as flames, the energy constantly oozing in the pattern of flames.

"He doesn't know what to expect of me now, it's my time to shine again," Asta grinned in confidence as he rushed forth at full speed, moulding himself back into a cold being as he psyched up himself.

The two drew close to one another as Asta acted the most reckless once more. Neither one found it easy to read the other's mind, conflicting thoughts constantly rising above the rest, and completely throwing much strategy out the way, as the pair often relied on their wits and instincts. As they drew closer, Asta suddenly disappeared in a flash, flanking the Captain and striking from behind in the same instant to try for an early constellation for the first part thrashing.

"Fast!" Yami exclaimed in awe as he hardly managed to block the blow, doing so quickly and steadily, though with a clear shock flooding his system from the unexpected attempt.

"I need to catch him while he's still shocked by my speed! I need to get ahead of the time and to get something in before he can figure me out again!" Asta thought as he forced himself against Yami's guard, trying to break past his defence with the single cut. Yami managed to hold back the pressure with one hand alone as he locked and readied his fist to strike.

Catching on, Asta quickly released all pressure as he let the pressure of Yami's defence help propel him away from the attack, "Breaking his guard is hopeless, I can never break through him just one-on-one. It would be much easier with another force by my side, but I guess this is why he's one of the most formidable mages to fight alone."

Gently, Asta swiped his sword behind him as he controlled his speed, stabilising himself in the air. He wasn't left with much time though as Yami came straight for him again, leaping high into the air with his sword already charged as he held it to his hip.

"Judging by his position, it's a horizontal strike!" Asta deduced as he guarded the strike successfully at the last second. Despite preventing any damage from the blow, the force was enough to blast him into a cliff edge nearby. With no room to provide friction, he was practically a rag-doll, no matter how solid his guard, the momentum was unstoppable.

"Shit! He's adding more power to his strikes now!" Asta grunted as he leant up, still sticking to the rocky cliff. It felt like his back had been stabbed hundreds of times in the instant of the collision as he suddenly found his back bruised and cut, but with minimal bleeding fortunately trailing down. "Time to change it up a bit," he added to his thoughts as he stabbed his weapon into the mountain he found himself on again, balancing himself cleanly on as he stared at the threat that hit him so.

Once again, Yami didn't waste time as he managed to propel himself in the air towards the open Asta, preparing to unleash another strike, "Interesting." As he closed the distance, he struck his blade towards his opponent once more, but this time he missed outright as Asta scarcely evaded the attack, beginning a flight downwards as he set eyes on a new target.

Smoke clouded Yami after his strike had cut deep into the cliff, making it much more unstable as his vision became obscured and he entered a brief coughing fit, losing concentration for the moment, "Leaving his weapon? The kid must be doing something tr-"

Before he finished his own thought, he barely reacted in time to avoid an incoming projectile. He abruptly leant forth as Asta's elegant Destroyer blade plummeted into the wall beside his head. Yami had a brief moment of shock as he analysed the blade and looked down to the young kid it had launched from, a small trickle of sweat meandering down his cheek.

Everyone else too was in a brief moment of shock, seeing how close Asta had come once more.

"Asta..." Mimosa awed, "he's stepping up his game now!"

"This kid...he's not holding much back now. He's got the ability to land a hit, but Yami's just on a whole other level in general," Zora observed.

Noelle began blushing slightly, seeing Asta's confidence, "I-I know you can do it, Stupidsta," she reflected on the numerous times he'd surpassed his limits alone, "you're not the type to settle for things if they aren't your way after all."

"Throwing away your other weapon eh? What are you gonna attack me with now eh?" Yami tilted his head slightly in confusion.

Asta pulled a confident grin as he held his right hand forth, "I'm never without my weapon truly!"

Yami felt his body slightly trembling as the sword which he stood on suddenly jolted out of its position. He instinctively leapt off as he caught sight of the sword returning to Asta's hand, leaving him completely open in the air as he was too far away from any surface. "Man it'd be great to be able to fly," Yami groaned as he stayed with his guard up.

"I've got you right where I want you!" Asta exclaimed in joy as he bent his knees, suddenly blasting like a rocket from his position and straight to Yami. He struck the captain's guard but kept forcing himself further and further up into a clearer space of air. During his ascent too, he grasped his thrown sword and dragged it through the cliff too, further decimating its stability as it began to crumble.

"Shit. The kid actually worked me into a vulnerable position for once. In the air he has most of the advantages in that form. Looks like I got a bit too drowsy myself for once," Yami puffed as he twisted his blade to fling Asta past him, "I need to work back down." He was interrupted in thought once again as he found himself defending suddenly against a blow from below, pushing him only upwards still. "His mobility in the air is impressive though, he's constantly pressuring to make me stay airborne and giving me no chance to use a different ability. All I need is one opening though."

At all times, the captain kept his guard up, constantly blocking by the skin of his teeth as he was flung around in the air like an autumn leaf. Asta kept doing his best, speeding up to his maximum as his hits became more vicious by the second.

The devil boy eventually dived in from behind going to give his all, "I'll hit you!"

Yami finally found his opening as he murmured, "There," blocking Asta's blow and managing to grasp onto him as he began to spin around rapidly, "hey kid! Have a nice trip!" He slowed himself and pulled back his arm like canon before blasting him downwards into the cliff edge. Given how damaged it was, Asta blasted through it all as it collapsed on top of him.

"No tough spot is too tough for me kid," Yami sighed as he landed back down with a huge 'THUMP!' All he could see before him though was a huge mound of rubbled from the collapsed structure.

"Should you have saved him then?" Nero questioned.

"He'll be fine, rubble is nothing to that kids skin," Vanessa huffed, "the one who needs saving is me! I haven't had a drink all day! Besides, my dear Rouge can stop him dying can't you, you cute thing!" She pet her threaded cat as she suddenly found herself captivated by it instead.

Nero rolled her eyes, "Maybe I'll have to start saving him instead."

"That's a nasty one," Zora looked away as the smoke spread into the area, "that'll have taken a lot out of him."

"Keep going Asta, I believe in you!" Mimosa prayed as she clenched her fists.

Yami kept progressing slowly to the rubble as he sensed Asta's ki still in the wreckage, "If this is too much for you then I won't lie when I say I'd be disappointed. But, I know your response to that already, so come at me again."

The mount of rubble suddenly blasted apart as a cloud of smoke overcame the area, obscuring all sense of vision. The figure of Asta rose once more as he seemed well more battered and bloodied, "Yeah, you know my response, but soon enough you won't know what hit ya!" He acted as the aggressor once more as he ploughed his Slayer sword into the ground, dragging it along with him before pulling it up as he grew closer to Yami, flinging a cloud of dust in his face as well as some heaps of rubble.

"Got ya!" Asta thought to himself as he attacked suddenly from behind, slashing his blade for Yami's back. He was met with a fierce block though as Yami swiftly turned himself around once more, pushing away the blade as he leant in for a melee attack which was just as swiftly avoided.

"You'll never get the chance like you did again, it's over," Yami bluntly said as he charged his blade, "I'm done being defensive. For now, let's see your defence instead!"

Sweat trickled down Asta's face, mixing in with his blood as his body began to shudder profusely, "My attacks haven't even phased him. He wants to put me on the back-foot but it'll give me more of a chance to counter. I just have to keep a level head."

The sword possessed by Yami was coated in a thick layer of darkness as he rapidly began to swing it in several directions. Each stroke unleashed a black beam, all heading towards Asta, "Faint Avidya Wild Slashes!"

Asta began slashing at the beams with both weapons as fast as he could while slowly progressing backwards. "There's so many more slashes than normal! I can't keep up at all!" he thought to himself while being lightly damaged by a few strikes. In between the chaos though, his sensing helped him through the situation, noticing abnormalities in the attack waves. "The ki in these attacks is odd. Not all of them are the same. From what I can sense, there's only two extremes going on, attacks with high ki and attacks with hardly even detectable ki. The low ki attacks aren't even effecting me it feels, discounting them from my defence would mean there's a lot less to block, I can survive this easily!"

Asta began trudging further, managing to detect which ones he needed to block as he was breaking through wave after wave, "This attack is pointless for offence though, it's not much different from deflecting it normally. He must be testing my ki detection."

"His adaption skills are improving," Nero smiled, "he's doing his best to try and get a balance between thinking and acting."

Vanessa looked in awe as she found herself distracted by the battle to remember her actual job, "How can such a little boy be so skilled and thoughtful?"

"Smart kid," Yami grinned as he ploughed towards him after abruptly ending the attack, catching him off of his guard. He struck him mercilessly with a full swing strike, colliding with a flimsy defence that blasted him deeper into the ground. He was beginning to lose his place though as he was hit with assault after assault, never finding room to breath as he was blasted around. At all times he was on the ropes, a slither away from shattering.

"I won't break!" Asta raged, "I won't let myself! I'll be as hard as diamonds!" His defence managed to strengthen as he began to find back his ebb and flow, reading into the patterns of his opponent and seeing through any other tricks. His ki began to shine through for his instincts, as it helped formulate the instincts in his mind. Despite his shining ability though, it was constantly being pressured and dwarfed by the behemoth of a swordsman, "I'm feeling a step ahead with my ki reading, but for however many I feel ahead, it feels like Yami is double it!"

"Stop dreaming!" Yami yelled from behind as Asta suddenly found himself completely defenceless. All progress and defence he had adapted with and build up was suddenly sliced into two as he let his guard down for a single moment. "You can't afford mistakes like that!" Yami exclaimed as he bluntly struck Asta, blasting him through the ground as he tumbled lifelessly.

Mimosa covered her eyes as she shuddered herself, "Oh no! This is difficult to take! But he keeps getting back up again! How does he have such willpower!?"

Zora looked down on the scared girl as he shook his head, "Of course he's getting up, stop acting so scared and watch your comrade fight already!"

"But I hate seeing him lose!" Mimosa answered.

"He's at his limits with such a weapon, he can't do much more with it. Guess I know what comes next," the Silva huffed as she watched the losing knight ever so keenly.

Blood flowed over the surface of Asta's face as if it was an inviting ocean. Several origins of blood seemed to have no end as it began to take a slight toll on Asta, his vision rarely doubling and becoming hazy as his movements became sloppy sometimes, "I let it slip again...I'm faced with the ground again..."

"Alright kid, looks like you're about-" Yami began.

"NOT YET!" Asta screamed as he forced himself back up again, "I'M NOT FINISHED!" Yami seemed rather surprised for him to stand so confidently at this point as he accepted the continuation, feeling confident in his victory.

Everyone was yet again at a loss for words at his stubbornness, "Why do you keep going? You know the victor of this battle already," Yami puffed.

"I still have my major advantage! I can't just give up!" Asta exclaimed as blood dripped down, staining and blending into the ground.

Yami seemed at a loss, "Advantage? You hold hardly a thing above me! You haven't even hit me!"

"Which is why I've got nothing to lose," Asta chuckled as he stunned his opponent with his words briefly, "you said you wouldn't get hit, that you've never been hit by us before...it means you've got it all to lose. Meanwhile, I can give it my all, I can put everything on the line, just to hit you!"

An ominous power began to rise in Asta as he left his Destroyer to the ground, wielding both hands to his Slayer as as it began to transform into it's most powerful form for the moment. "I'm hanging in by a thread, so it's now or nothing to hit the bastard. I can't maintain this form that long still anyway, especially when I'm tattered enough, but if I'm ever going to hit him, I have to do my best with this," Asta thought as he steadied his fully formed weapon ahead of himself, "BLACK DIVIDER!"

His weapon grew several times larger than himself as he pulled a nervous grin, his exterior confidence cloaking his shivering interior. He couldn't make himself more powerful if he desired now as he slowly began forth again for a last rally or two, depending how long he could last.

"I remember a ki like this faintly from back at the Palace. It was enough to slice that devil into two so I have to stay cautious," Yami thought. "Don't think you're the only one putting more effort in now. Ready yourself!" he boomed as an even more menacing aura surrounded him, an intense feeling pressuring against all around.

"This is just ridiculous now! Why's he going out with so much strength with an opponent who hasn't hit him once!?" Vanessa raged in utter confusion as she strengthened her threads as much as possible.

"He's powering up alongside Asta to ensure he doesn't land a hit on him. He's overcompensating on purpose just so that he can avoid sustaining damage. He was serious in denying Asta a hit on him," Nero explained as she blankly stared on.

Yami was also shrouded in darkness, nearly as much as his blade, as he began towards Asta, "MANA ZONE!"

The two were just as cautious at approaching one another, one being frightened of the other's power, one being uncertain of the other. "Mana Zone? Though I can cancel some of its effect most likely, it'll still be a significant boost to him, and I won't be able to stop it benefiting his attacks for the most part, just some of his area manipulation."

"I don't plan on using many attacks like this," Yami thought to himself, "we'll end this quickly."

"FALLEN STAR BREAKDOWN!" Asta yelled as he slammed his divider forth, the upper half gaining whip-like properties as it distorted from its natural shape. The whipping energy slammed downwards, crushing both Yami and the area around him. He already knew that alone wouldn't be enough as he dived forth with the same properties applied to his weapon still, swiping horizontally as he covered as much area as possible.

Bonfires of smoke formed in the wake of these attacks as Asta held the flat side of the blade in front of him, ready to deflect any attack, "I could hardly feel a thing. I don't feel as much of my opponent when I hit them with that blow, it lessens the impact on my hands, but it makes it harder certify any blows."

An epiphany suddenly overcame Asta as he heightened his ki detection, swiping confidently behind himself as he forced the advancing Yami away again, "He got there without me realising till so late? He's not even that dusted!"

"Nice new move you have there. I don't plan on shining much though," Yami shrugged as he advanced again.

"I'll keep coming till I hit you!" Asta continued as the pair began to clash blades, swiping at one another as their weapons ricocheted constantly off of each other, but still with Yami's hits repelling Asta slightly further.

"Well you're gonna be waiting a long while," Yami huffed as he sliced another fierce blow, exposing Asta's vulnerability once more as he went straight in for another blow.

Asta managed to propel himself backwards with a simple kick as his wings carried him the rest of the way out of his attack range. It wasn't before long that he found himself backed against a smaller sized mountain, but even at that, Asta was dwarfed by a hundred times at a minimum, "I'm backed against a corner then, I can't afford to waste much more-"

All attention was drawn back towards the young kid's opponent as he immediately recognised the stance he was in. His blade was loaded overhead, coated in a thick layer of darkness, his right leg stretched ahead of the alternate one.

"You gotta be shitting me," Asta sweat as he stood open, "with a blow like that, the attack is virtually guaranteed to hit. I could maybe avoid it if I'm lucky...but...I know what he wants me to do, and I know what I must do."

"HAVE BOTH OF THEM LOST IT!?" Noelle frenzied as her hands clawed through her own hair, "that attack can kill people, and Stupidsta's trying to block it!?"

Mimosa stayed clenched and wrapped in a small ball as she constantly recited her desires, "Please live Asta, please live Asta, please live Asta, please live Asta, please live Asta, please live Asta, please live Asta, PLEASE LIVE ASTA!"

"It's official, all of us are nutters," Zora groaned as he looked down in pity while unveiling himself from cover as he baited his companions out too, "but for all these risks, I wanna good view of this! You better survive this, Asta."

"I guess it's time to stop Yami from actually killing him this time," Vanessa groaned as she readied her threads.

Nero reflected on the battle so far for a moment, "No," she bluntly stated as she received a confused look, "if this went wrong for Asta then Rouge can change his fate, but right now, my feelings are telling me to believe in Asta."

Vanessa found herself glum and lost as she watched on, heeding Nero's trust, "Man, what a crappy guardian I am."

The attack began as the final push set in motion, Yami's blade lowering down as he felt all his energy resonating within him, "Show me what you got kid! Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!" It moved in an instant, finishing what it set to do as it was all left to Asta to respond.

"I'VE GOT YA!" Asta exclaimed as he approached the attack with as much confidence as he could, approaching with fear would only make his attack uncertain. "I've not really used this before, but improvising has kept me alive so far that I can't let myself down now," Asta thought to himself before tensing his whole body and slashing his sword downwards, yelling, "GIANT'S SLASH!" His blade too blasted out a large wave but of anti-magic energy, colliding with Yami's attack at an awkward angle. As his blade reached the tip of the floor a sudden explosion of energy churned through the ground, blasting a long column of stone and rubble towards Yami, which he leapt above simply.

Simultaneously, Asta's attack had collided with Yami's, mostly cancelling it out barring a single long portion which didn't meet Asta's attack, and collided against the mountain, that alone completely decimating the structure behind him as it burst into dozens of huge chunks, and creating a huge wave of smoke.

"It did so much damage while hardly connecting to the mountain!" Vanessa awed.

"As I suspected, it was part of his plan after all," Nero softly smiled as she attentively watched Asta.

"Getting the mountain hit was part of his plan? How insane must he be thinking!" Vanessa whined.

Nero still didn't falter from her position, "He used his new technique to cut most of the attack, purposely angling it so he would miss some portions. You'll see the rest." "Well done Asta," Nero thought to herself, "I've never seen him focus so deeply in his life, he's not letting his determination sway, even when all odds are completely against him."

"Right where I want you!" Asta proclaimed in excitement as he blasted to the fields of rubble above, sword drawn and readied, "and now, this is where I surpass my limits!" Asta's speed suddenly increased magnificently as he flew around, faster than anything in sight, faster than the wind itself as he sliced and dashed through boulder after boulder, constantly cutting them to a miniscule size as the dust clouds began to spread to Yami, wrapping around his lungs.

"Such speed!" Noelle admired, "he's truly surpassing his limits! He's burning all he has to just get that one hit!"

Mimosa finally grew the courage to uncover her eyes as she started on in awe, seeing Asta's ludicrous speed, "Asta...he's giving it absolutely everything! My belief might yet work!"

"Damn, glad I'm not on your bad side," Zora sweat."

Battle cries were exhausted as Asta diced everything he could sense, well utilising his ki to navigate through the smoke he made. Before he knew it, he diced up everything her could as everyone entered a coughing fit, their lungs strangled.

"I can't lose focus!" Yami coughed as he couldn't help himself, losing track of his senses slightly. Before he realised it, he was suddenly surrounded by a constantly circulating Asta who condensed the concentrations of the dust while striking consistent beams too as Yami struggled to keep up, getting sloppier on his slices.

While waiting for the next attack, Yami didn't notice the barrage of attacks heading from behind. He barely managed to sense them as they were right in his face, and yet, he managed to block them, hardly negating every blow as he felt he finally regained control. That was until a sudden new feeling over came him, a warm feeling creeping down the right of his face and meandering down his face. All barrages of attacks stopped as there was a long silence.

Yami raised his right arm to his cheek before pulling it away again, seeing blood.

"YEEEEEEESSSSS!" Asta exclaimed as he let out a triumphant roar like that of a dragon. Everyone, including Yami, was thrown into a humongous shock as Asta transformed back into his base form again, being exhausted of his powers. His triumph suddenly turned back into pain as he let out another roar, but this time of agony while everybody was stuck two steps behind.

"He did it!" Mimosa exclaimed as she was the first to rush forth to tend to his wounds, "I'm so proud of you Asta! You landed a blow on Yami!"

Everyone else began their rush inwards too to celebrate, other than Yami, who was still left there contemplating, "Between the barrage of attacks, he got me to an edge to sway my sensing as much as possible. He put his all into each and every last swing towards me, to make me focus on the high ki so that a sly low ki attack would travel through unnoticed to cut me. Realistically, I would have slashed it by accident anyway with my movements, which means he analysed my patterns during the onslaught, and sent the attack into an area I wasn't defending, or timed it so that I couldn't have made it in time. He really did surpass his limits..."

"Owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie," Asta shuddered constantly as he received his healing off of Mimosa.

"Well done little guy," Zora lightly chuckled as they all swarmed the centre of attention, barring Nero who watched from outside the swarm with a warming smile of joy.

"You did it, little boy! You're a miracle child!" Vanessa awed.

Noelle puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms as she looked the other way, "I guess that was pretty cool of you..." "HOW THE HELL DOES HE DO THIS! IS HE EVEN HUMAN!?" Noelle was raging on the inside as she was hardly managing to control herself.

Asta was trying to control his pain while easing off pressure as he began to blush up, "C-come on guys! I didn't even win the fight! I was no where near Yami's level!"

"I can't believe you manage to keep to the words you say. I was confident I'd go through unscathed, but you fought well. It's the most mature performance I've seen you even have. Be proud, and be proud knowing that you were the first Bull to wound me," Yami grinned, he'd never seemed more happy in his life it seemed, "if you keep this up kid, you will become the Wizard King."

Asta was blown to Hage and back as he blushed extravagantly as well as overflowed with excitement. "He believes in me!" Asta exclaimed internally as he reflected on their first encounter, "I thought he was making fun of me at first and only took me in out of pity, I guess, all along, through all our troubles...he's truly believed in me..."

The sky caught Asta's gaze as he gave it a bubbling smile, "Through all I've been through, look how far I've come! No...through all we've been through...I hope you're proud of us, Hage..."

Asta felt a strange touch though suddenly, as he looked up to see Nero with a smiling face, outstretching her hand towards him and patting his head, "I always believed in you, well done Asta!"

Asta blushed slightly as he extended his smile, "Thank you, Nero!"

"I can't believe how happy they are for me just to hit Yami. To become Wizard King, I've got a long, long way to go, in order to beat the likes of Yami," the praised boy huffed to himself.

"I'd love to use this as an excuse to feast," Yami groaned as he felt his desperate stomach, gargling for more nourishment.

"How are your injuries?" Mimosa questioned as she put her most tender love into the healing.

Asta shared his smile with Mimosa, "I feel much better thank you! Your healing really has improved! It feels a lot more soothing!"

"D-don't mention it!" Mimosa blushed as she continued her job.

As Yami zoned out, a letter suddenly landed into his hand, waking his senses back up. He glanced behind him to see a messenger bird disappear out of sight swiftly as he opened and analysed the contents. "Ah you gotta be kidding me," Yami groaned as he caught the attention of those below him.

"Captain?" Vanessa pondered.

"Mimosa, wrap up those injuries quickly and as best as you can," Yami groaned in frustration as he wiped the blood off of his cheek, "me and him have been called for a meeting in the capital."

Thanks for reading all the way down if you did! Sorry for the big word count but I hope you enjoyed it because I ended up ploughing more hours than expected into this! It was my first time writing a fight for something like Black Clover and given how I wanted it to narratively turn out, it wasn't the easiest fight I've had to write so I hope it satisfied you!

I've been bubbling with ideas and I can't wait to get further through this story!

Have a wonderful day/night :D

NEXT CHAPTER: Calm Before the Storm