Black Clover: The Darkness In Me

by FuseBomber

Time runs thin as the war against the Spade Kingdom draws close. But now more than ever, darkness resides and surfaces in Asta. The Devil inside is raining havoc upon him and twisting his dreams inside out, and presenting mental struggles he's never faced before. With such a troubled war on the horizon, will Asta contain the darkness within him, or will he lose control?

3. Calm Before The Storm

"Owie, owie!" Asta squealed as he felt his body slowly loosening in its tensions.

"I-I'm sorry Asta! It'll sting a while more," Mimosa frowned as she looked saddened by his pain.

Finral pulled a wide stretch as he looked around unamused, "Damn, it's so hard to contain myself in a place like this! I need to find something to cool off, this meeting is gonna be a while after all and I'll have Mimosa for company at least."

Yami took a puff of his cigarette as he looked ahead towards their destination. It was afternoon by now and time towards the meeting ticked thinner by each moment. He glanced to the small problem child as he glossed over his state, most injuries Mimosa had managed to seal and cover up, but some she hadn't had enough time to get to as she worked her hardest to make him pristine once more.

"Man, I'm gonna get some questions for this," Yami sighed in disappointment as he glared at some of the bandages wrapped around Asta's arms and stomach.

Mimosa looked glum once more as she ceased her healing, "I'm sorry I couldn't get to all of his injuries, I got the most vital ones first," she explained as she began wrapping one more bandage around her patient's head tenderly, "because I had rushed though, some aren't completely sealed over yet, so avoid adding any strain to your body,"

Asta pulled a gleaming smile as he pat Mimosa, making her cheeks turn to a bright cherry red, "Don't worry! Thanks so much for your help! You're always a strong pillar to lean on! Hey, are you ok? You've gone really red!"

"A-A-Asta!" Mimosa barely managed to fumble the words out of her mouth as she relished his tender touch. Her whole body was shivering and her temperature multiplied as she shook herself down to try and cool herself, "I-It's nothing!"

Finral observed blankly and unamused at Asta's ignorance, "All the signs are blazing into his eyes and yet he's still so blind to what's happening! How can a guy like him have so many girls after him and be so oblivious to them all!" He locked eyes onto Nero who rested onto the hair of the manaless boy, "I bet he even managed to rub off onto her!"

"Anyway, we're off now before we end up being late. There's a reception after the meeting, so come there before we finish or whatever then we'll do whatever from there, it should long into the night so I guess you have it easy today," Yami huffed as he began to drag Asta with him with no consultation at all.

"We'll meet you there!" Mimosa eagerly proclaimed as she furiously nodded her head.

Finral waved off the pair too as they vanished from sight, giving him a chance to relax, "Now they're gone, guess we should find something to do before the reception."

Mimosa continued her eager actions, seeming on board for anything, "Right!"

---

Inside the meeting room, all captains had practically already gathered as the table length was extended, fitting new accomplices to the meeting. Everything seemed as pristine as always, but to Asta it was an awing spectacle as he was never truly given time to bathe in the atmosphere of the place. Still though, he stuck out like a sore thumb, as he was completely surrounded by Captains, with himself being so young and diminishing in comparison.

Asta observed the room, sighting several of the Captains. Though he'd interacted with many individuals like them frequently, never had he felt and absorbed such an oppressive feeling, being flooded into a pool of elites. "There's so many different levels of ki I can sense, it's overwhelming! Normally, Yami's is enough to make me tremble, but it feels like that along with being multiplied a dozen times. In such a small space, it's practically intoxicating!"

He began to more thoroughly observe though as the atmosphere still crept into his molecules of skin, "Yami, Nozel, Charlotte, Jack, Dorothy, Kaiser and Rill all here alone tingles the feelings in my back! But there's more..."

"Finally turned up eh, Yami? You're nearly late!" Jack teased.

"Nearly late isn't late," Yami huffed as he relaxed into the room again, taking a seat alongside Charlotte, who's cheeks promptly flourished in their own rosy colour.

"Looks like you brought that little twerp of a kid too! It's not bring your kid to work day! Besides, why is he all bandaged up?" Jack questioned as he edged closer towards Yami.

Yami exhaled another cloud of smoke as he refrained eye contact with the Ripper, "The boss wanted him, don't blame me, he's integral to the plan or something. I was just training him before this abrupt invite so he's just a tad bit injured."

Asta suddenly felt an explosive presence before himself as he diverted his attention once more, "Looks like you've truly been pushing yourself since me last met!" Mereoleona exclaimed as she slammed her right hand onto his shoulder, "I'd expect nothing less from an aspiring child!"

"It seems Yami's been pushing you quite hard," Fuegoleon lightly chuckled as he appeared from behind his sister, "it's wonderful to see you pushing for your dreams!"

"Mereoleona! Fuegoleon! You're both fully fit and healthy again!" Asta exclaimed in pure happiness.

Mereoleona shifted her hand to pat Asta softly on the head as she pulled a wide grin, "Indeed, and it's thanks to you I suppose. If you hadn't grown wits like you did to face such tremendous power in a sole effort to save me, then I would most certainly be dead! I thought you wasted my life at first, just to have a shot at the enemy, but I see now you risked your life just to save mine. I'm not sure at this point if you're skilled or lucky!"

"A fifty-fifty is my best bet on that!" Yami called from behind, giving Mereoleona and Fuegoleon a clearer look of him.

The two instantly spotted the scar on Yami's face which he had gained as Fuegoleon edged forth, "Is that a scar on your cheek? Since when did you gain one of them?"

Yami surrounded himself in an immediate feeling of regret as he tried to cover it by his resting hand, "O-oh! E-erm, nothing! I just had a little acc-"

"Oh! Oh! I managed to land an attack on Yami in training today! It took a lot of effort but I gave my all to land something!" Asta burst in excitement as Yami was immediately overcome in despair.

"I should have let Vetto get this little shit before I killed him," Yami internally despaired.

Everyone glanced over to the cheerful Asta in shock, before a blast of laughter ensued, filling the room to the brim with noise as many could hardly contain themselves.

"The great Yami of the Black Bulls got scarred by a kid!" Jack laughed hysterically, as he took no breaths in between his hysteria.

Mereoleona couldn't help but get caught into the laughter too as he pointed straight at Yami, who's anger levels were rapidly rising, "Either this kid is insanely skilled or you're suddenly pitifully weak!"

All Charlotte could do was admire the scar as she couldn't help but fantasize in her inner thoughts, "T-the scar looks so cool! WHY DOES IT MAKE HIM HOTTER!? I CAN'T GET THE IMAGE OUT OF MY MIND NOW!" She practically collapsed there in her seat as her face felt as hot as pure magma.

"I'm starting to think there's no win in this situation for me suddenly," Asta sighed as he felt Yami's growing anger as his ki spiked, Nero simply nodded as she stayed nestled on Asta's hair.

"Wow! You managed to hit Yami!?" Rill awed as he leached over and grappled to Asta with an ecstatic look in his eyes, "you're so amazing Asta! I bet you could become a Captain like me at my age! You're amazing!"

Asta grew a determined look as he neglected the rowdiness of everything else around him, "R-right! I hope I can become just like you! I'll do my best!"

"Really!?" Rill lit up further as he seemed overly cheery, "I'd love to paint a beautiful battlefield with you! With the war around the corner, I may get that chance soon!"

"It seems you've been awfully busy now, haven't you, rival?" Nozel chuckled as he appeared behind the kid, "I can't let you keep growing while I stay still of course, so I've been growing too, but you certainly seem to have made an even greater leap than me."

Urgently, Asta flung himself around, "I'm giving it my all, sir! And I won't slow down with my leaps in progress either! I only just damaged Yami now, but I'll have to work towards defeating him!"

"Take pride in yourself," Nozel abruptly said as Asta looked on in slight confusion, "I can't say I know many mages who could lay a finger to Yami in such a way, so take pride in yourself for this. If you don't relish every feat, it becomes a lot less hearty of an adventure, you won't get complete fulfilment in an adventure like this unless you track back from where you were. Progress is joy I only wish I could enjoy much more often."

"Yes sir!" Asta nodded as he took each and every word to his heart.

"Oh ho! You've affirmed a rival with this rascal too have you?" Fuegoleon grinned as he entered the chatter, Asta moving himself backwards to form a triangle between them.

Nozel sharpened his gaze against his rival, "Any rival of yours, is a rival of mine I suppose. Either way, I suppose we all have the same end goal in mind. Given your youth Asta, you've got a lot of catching up to do."

Asta clenched his fists, "I won't let myself fall behind. I'll surpass you both and Yuno! I'll be the next Wizard King no matter what! And I'll prove it to you this very war!"

"Try and not wallow too much in my shadow then!" Fuegoleon teased as he imposed a serious, yet seemingly friendly look upon him in response to Asta's determination, "though now I can truly see how serious you are in your dream. If you keep shooting for the stars as you are, you can become the next Wizard King."

Just as when he heard those words from Yami, Asta felt an overwhelming feeling of excitement as he pulled a wide, toothy smile, "I promise to give it my all!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Nozel smiled, "because I'm going to be the next Wizard King of course."

"Guess we'll have to see how we stand in another year!" Fuegoleon shrugged as they shared a laugh between them all.

"The only reason any of you stand a chance is because I'm not going for the position," Mereoleona sighed as she entered the fray too, focusing her attention back onto the youngest child. "Don't think I'm finished with you kid, I haven't gotten to really pay you back for saving my life. The rate at which you've gotten stronger is astounding, but it's still not enough if you want to surpass these two idiots!"

Asta was left in awe as he couldn't help but feel a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside, "This is what it feels like to be acknowledged by those you admire! I feel so warm!" "Wh-what do you mean?"

A flaming claw suddenly latched around Asta's head as he was raised up to Mereoleona's height, "I want to help you surpass these idiots is what I'm saying! Not to just pay you back for saving me, but because I want to see your dream come into fruition!"

Asta's memory was flung a long distance back to when he last property fought alongside her, "My...dream?"

"I never forgot your words, and if I'm not stepping up to mould the future my way, you'll have to do it for me! Understand?" She questioned.

"Yes ma'am!" Asta bubbled to the brim with even more excitement as his whole body was full of energy, the ambitions of his future finally coming into full perspective. At last, he not only had support for him and his ambitions of becoming a great magic knight, but support for him becoming the next wizard king, and support for his ideas of the future. It made him so happy that he wanted to cry, but he refrained himself as he maintained his composure.

Nozel read straight through Asta though as he saw the water forming in his eyes, "Is something wrong?"

Slowly, Asta fully raised his head to the three of them as he couldn't lower his smile even if he so desired. His face flooded with tears once more, not with sadness or fear, but with pure joy, "Under two years ago, I was a no-magic peasant, someone viewed as worthless and invaluable to the world. No matter what, I never did, and still haven't given up my dream… It's still hard to believe, that even with the whole world against me, I made it so far to stand before you all now," Asta trembled further, "I'm...so...honoured!"

"Now, now! No need to get all soppy about it!" Mereoleona smiled as she reached to wrap her arms around all three of them, though with Nozel looking the least amused.

"You made it so far because of the fruits of your efforts! No matter what, you believed and kept going. One day, all that you put in will come back for you, and for you, your efforts brought you so far!" Fuegoleon cheered as he held the boy closer.

Nozel steadied himself as he gazed upon the hopeful, young boy, "Weather it's you or me that makes it to our dream Asta, remember, that we make sure the future we wish to see comes into reality."

"Here, here!" Mereoleona chuckled as she obnoxiously drew them all closer, "it doesn't matter weather you're magicless or a peasant, or an elf or a dwarf! Each life is an opportunity, and we're gonna make sure each can be lived to the fullest!"

The group unanimously nodded heads as they gently parted, shortly before all attention was drawn elsewhere.

"I bet you that since I got hit, you would have too!" Yami raged as he slammed his fist against the table.

"Th-they're still going on about that!?" Asta anxiously thought as he looked a bit more glum, "the Wizard King should be here soon!"

Jack slammed his fist down too as they closed within an inch of each other's face, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Don't make me laugh! My dodging skills far outdo yours! Small fry like him are fodder for me!"

"Oh yeah!? I bet you my entire months worth of pay that if you fight him, you won't get out undamaged! In fact, I bet that none of you here can take him out without taking a single hit!" Yami continued to rage constantly.

Asta saw all eyes turn to him as he felt the pressure of everyone around as a few devilish faces appeared, "U-uhm...Yami?!"

Yami noticed all the attention coming the kids way as he shrugged it off, "Meh, I'm sure you could handle all of them, right? Just surpass your limits or something, you seem good at being resilient after all."

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ADVICE!" Asta exclaimed as he felt the constant pressure, the eyes of judgement looking down upon him. Like an angel's blessing though, all thought of fighting the youngster was overruled upon the sound of footsteps, drawing attention to their source of the main door.

There was a long silence as the steps grew closer, but before long, the figure walked through, with William Vangeance appearing before them all. He held an emotionless face as he read the awkwardness of the moment, "Sorry for my lateness, I had to have a few consultations with my vice-captain."

Yami was first to break the awkwardness as he relaxed back further into his seat, "Lateness ain't new for you so I don't see an issue. King ain't even here yet so I guess you're not even late really." Conversation kicked back in as smaller groups of talks presumed.

"Asta, get over here ya kiddo, you're sittin' with me," Yami puffed as he kicked out a seat, glancing over to the embarrassed Charlotte, "also you're being awfully quiet for once, what's up?"

"N-N-N-N-N-NOTH-THING!" Charlotte suddenly exclaimed in a panic as she avoided eye-contact.

Yami, slowly nodded his head as many began to take their seats, "Suurrrreee..."

As Asta passed in front of William, the Golden Dawn mage locked his sight onto him as he carefully analysed him, not at all changing his expression before he began to sit down himself, opposite Yami.

"Oh, oh, Asta! Can I sit next to you!?" Rill pleaded as he looked up towards Asta like a puppy, his eyes full of a genuine feeling of desperation. He still seemed as jolly as before as he was practically already seated, simply waiting for a word of confirmation to do what he so clearly wanted to anyway.

"O-of course," Asta stuttered in confusion as he seemed mildly lost.

Asta leant towards Yami, "What do I do?" he whispered as quietly as he could while Yami was reloading another smoke.

The responder glanced to him ever so slightly as he shrugged, "Be yourself, just treat it like a normal conversation, but more formal, which I bet is your problem then."

"I can be completely formal!" Asta grunted as he rolled his eyes, Yami seeming unamused instead.

To William's right, Dorothy was already resting, making it impossible to tell if she was paying attention or not. To his left though sat Mereoleona, who faced opposite of Asta. She contained her frequent grin as she seemed pleased at the moment, eagerly leaning mostly forwards. To her left was her Captain brother, Fuegoleon, he seemed much more serious as he sat opposite of Rill, ignoring any notions from the clown of a captain. Even further along from the fire duo was Jack, who sat opposite Nozel with Kaiser rounding off the end of the table.

Everyone had collapsed into complete silence as Asta looked around in awe, taking in the atmosphere. Nero seemed much more contained as she stared blankly into nothingness, seeming to not care much at all.

"I apologise for the wait, but it's good to see all of you are here," The Wizard King began through his sudden entry at the back doors. He had been given a slightly more elevated chair as he had to climb himself on top of it, mounting it like a wall as he grunted and twisted in his efforts.

Asta had not given much attention to the table itself before as he only then had noticed it's beautiful engravings. More importantly though, in front of the Wizard king there seemed to be a map of sorts, but for Asta it couldn't be identified from his position. Not only that though, but in front of him too were dozens of different chess pieces, nearly lined with one another.

"You will have noticed our guest in the form of Asta. As of now, his weapon is the only way we know of slaying these 'Devils'. He is a core part to the method of this plan so I thought it'd be best to have him here with us. Treat him no less than a Captain like yourselves," The Wizard King continued.

"I'm a core part?" Asta thought to himself as he could feel his nerves slightly building.

Yami rested his arm on the short guest's head as he took another puff, "Ya, ya, totally got nothing but respect for the kid and all after today." He pushed down with much more force as he compressed Asta deeper into his seat.

Julius immediately spotted the scar on Yami's cheek. Coupled with his interaction with Asta, he mostly deduced what had happened between the two, pulling a sly, satisfied grin to himself, "He gets more incredible with every visit. Yes, maybe he'll truly be up for this war. Regardless, I must depend on him anyway."

"There's plentiful amounts of information we have fortunately managed to gather regarding the threat of the Spade Kingdom. With the Diamond Kingdom virtually under complete control of the Spade, there are practically two fronts we can be assaulted from primarily, the north and the east. At the moment, it seems like they are prioritising an attack on the Heart Kingdom. If that were to be successful, we would be completely destroyed."

"So we need to repel the attack on them and gain some territory?" Nozel questioned.

"Precisely," Julius nodded as he swiped his arm over the surface of the table, a map of the continent appearing before all with the territory of each Kingdom highlighted. Spade was an eerie black colour, spreading across the majority of the map and into the deepest spreads of the Diamond Kingdom. However, in the darkness of the Diamond Kingdom, there seemed to be some light, yet minimal, "with the ultimate control they have, the only way we can win is by taking their own territory and forcing them into a corner."

Keenly, Asta analysed the land before leaning forth, "If we're going to be vanquished from being overwhelmed, doesn't that mean we should help take back the Diamond Kingdom from control?"

All eyes turned to the vibrant boy boy as Nozel considered the idea, "The kingdom is beyond saving. We'll be surely taking on an entire unit of their army just to recover territory that isn't even ours. Besides, with it being nearly completely controlled, a battle for their land would be a war of its own with our forces."

"There are still living forces of the Diamond Kingdom thriving against control it seems," Rill supported, "I doubt they want to stay under control, so if we add some force of our own to waver control, we could cause a country-wide rebellion!"

"That's being overly-ambitious don't ya think? What would make you think they'd so cheerily agree to work with some army they've despised and tried to take from for so long?" Jack groaned, "even at times like this, selfishness and arrogance can plague the minds of some hot-headed bozos like the Diamonds.

"He does have half a point for once," Yami submitted, "they won't really appreciate our help. In a dire state like what they're in, their blood just goes to their head and they act all irrational."

Mereoleona added into the fray too as she faced eye-to-eye with Asta, "Assuming these forces they have left are even worth a damn, there's no telling if they could manipulate and soon take advantage of us. We're clueless as to any possible alliance forming between them, even if temporary. They cannot be trusted."

Asta leaned even further as he leant both arm against the table, "I know a hefty amount about the mages inside. The strongest few in the entire country were trying to set things anew, I personally faced all of them on the battlefield and managed to connect to them! I'd gamble my life to say what's left of them is them few!"

"Unfortunately, now is not a time for gambling, we can only act off of certainties," Kaiser interjected.

"There's no reason to worry of gambling. I'd very much like to go ahead with Asta's proposals and I had already took steps towards this plan of action anyway," Julius began as he re-drew attention, "I am meeting with the head of this resistance group soon, an event I would like both Yami and Asta to attend," he looked towards William, "as well as Yuno."

William nodded, "I'll alert him as soon as possible, but, are you sure about trusting such an enemy? I doubt you are new to his conflicts with the kingdom before."

Julius saw the doubt in many faces, "Given the predicament of their kingdom, any tricky action on their part would backfire. Besides, I'll have mages such as Yuno there for support if things go south. Realistically, any action that doesn't enable us to help them would end up in them being crushed from being a country as a whole."

"Yuno..." Asta thought to himself as he composed and sat back down, "I haven't seen him in so long, but so much has happened with him…"

"As a whole, there are currently four fronts at a time we will find ourselves fighting on, making overcoming some battles faster a priority. And realistically, weather we'd like to fight back against the taken over Diamond Kingdom or not, we must fight there regardless, as we believe there is a high-priority target there. Most likely, it is one of the three of the Dark Triad, Zenon."

Anxiety started to stir in Asta as he reflected on the threat ahead, "Zenon in the Diamond Kingdom...the fear he drives into everyone must be insurmountable, it was enough to deter Luck's battle instincts after all, and he'd normally fight anything."

"He took out the whole of the Diamond Kingdom primarily," Charlotte shuddered, "he must be trying to stabilise complete control."

"It seems so," Julius agreed, "adding to that, we must have a decent batch of forces in case there was ever an attack on the Kingdom. Furthermore, we must aid in the defence of the Heart Kingdom, which will be most likely lead by another of the Dark Triad. It is safe to assume that their leader, Dante will stay in the Spade Kingdom as of now, though if he does come out, it will most likely be for an attack on Clover. This means from our observations and deductions, that Vanica would lead such a charge. This would mean we require a strong force for this defence."

"Where does this fourth front of attack take place then?" Rill questioned in wonderment.

"Within Spade Kingdom itself," The Wizard King bluntly answered, "constantly splitting ourselves on so many fronts will be a challenge, but without chipping away land within the enemy itself, we'll be slowly weakened into defeat."

Rhythmically, Jack found himself tapping the table, "Alright, four fronts is manageable, but how are we gonna split our forces then? We'll have to put a greater priority into some areas rather than others."

Charlotte analysed the map herself too as she noticed chess pieces slowly forming on the table, "We'd have to split up our forces based on their strengths I assume. With that I assume we'd like a strong defence of the Kingdom."

Yami rested his arm on Charlotte next as her face only continued to get brighter as she tried to contain herself, gently trying to ignore his pressure and shrug him off. "If we go ahead with saving Diamond, I guess we're gonna put a lot of power into it too, to quickly take it back and take out one of their commanders. I'd be up for that."

"Me too," Mereoleona added, "a swift victory there would help lessen the pressure on our forces and allow for more concentrated later attacks."

"We can't gamble too much there though, spreading too many forces would make us vulnerable," Fuegoleon intervened.

"Which is what brings me to the next point involving the splitting of troops," Julius followed as the chess pieces became more apparent.

"Oh! I love chess!" Dorothy interrupted with a vibrant smile.

Yami was full confusion for a brief moment as he slammed his fist, "When the hell did you wake up!?"

Dorothy pulled a confused look, "I've been awake this whole time!"

"I'm afraid you haven't," Rill nervously chuckled as he scratched the back of his head."

"This is the way I'll aid you to visualise it for the time being. These positions will be decided besides a few which are already assigned," Julius pointed towards the king piece, "me and the king fill the position of the king piece of course. If we are to be killed, the war is lost and the country will fold upon itself, enough for a complete takeover."

"Let's pray it doesn't come to that," William sighed.

Asta eagerly edged forth once more, "The Queen is all of the Captains then?"

Julius shook his head, "No, the Captains fill the positions of Bishops. You fill the position as Queen, Asta."

Yami burst out laughing as Asta was thrown into a wave of shock, "Ha! You're a lady, kid!"

"Your sense of humour is really dry," Kaiser groaned.

"Being a lady is nothing to scoff at! We're elegant on the battlefield!" Charlotte burst out as she only got a further chuckle out of Yami.

"Elegant?" Mereoleona questioned, "that's not my style at all! You won't win on the battlefield by performing lady-like!"

"It's got me so far," Charlotte grumpily replied as she crossed her arms.

"Without Asta, it isn't impossible to win this war, but, he is our main force for slaying the devils, with his anti-magic. While we are unfamiliar with killing them, according to Asta and Yuno's battle against the devil who had manipulated the elves, the anti-magic was most effective. Any further elaborations?" Julius asked as he glanced towards the courageous spirit.

Asta was still lost to himself, "Why is the feeling of pressure getting to me now? Why am I being so relied upon? Is it because nobody so important has had such expectations of me before?" He glumly looked to the table, "Even so, I've been working towards a moment like this my whole life, I can't let myself hesitate now. With the Wizard King unable to fight anyway, he's placed me as his most vital asset, probably because of the devil issue. When I fought with Yuno, he managed to fix some powers into his sword to attack the devil but I still had to land the final blow, most of the power used to hurt the devil has vanished now most likely."

Asta dialled back his mind, "From what I recall, the devils are vulnerable to all types of magic, it's just the effectiveness that differs. They can only be killed by a slash through the heart too, which makes it so they can easily regenerate the rest of their body from nothing. Even Yami managed to get a strong blow to cut him in half but he regenerates seamlessly, even when the rest of his body other than the heart was destroyed. If I had to guess, the heart can't be destroyed by blunt attacks, only sharp strikes, no amount of mana can just overwhelm it. So I'm most likely not the only one that can kill them, but the use of anti-magic is definitely what gives the greatest advantage I suppose. At least it did against that one we faced."

Yami rested his arm more sturdily on Charlotte to prevent her shaking it off as he rested his other arm back on the kid's head, "So for the most part, our magic attacks can serve well to break him down, but it'll all be meaningless without a strike through the heart?"

"At least for me, we could wear them down, but when I killed that devil, I struck through a still armoured shell of himself, all I need to kill them really is a good opportunity," Asta resumed.

"That sounds easier said than done," Rill nervously chuckled one more.

Julius resumed, "The knights, castles and rooks are all positions that will be assigned to the remaining magic knights, categorised based off of their current power. From knights, to castles, to rooks would descend the power of mages, and we would be able to split our forces by sending concentrated amounts of each category of these forces. For example, if the defence of the Heart Kingdom requires immediate support, we could send in a suitable concentration of forces from our categories."

"And how exactly are we measuring what category our squads fit?" Nozel questioned.

"Small tournaments between squads," he immediately responded, "I've measured our time and I have a solid prediction that the attacks of the Spade Kingdom on Heart Kingdom will take place now in two weeks."

Everyone seemed rather bewildered as Fuegoleon entered into the flow of conversation once more, "Two weeks? That's a spacious delay for us to utilise. What brought this about though?"

An anxious look overcame the King of Magic, "It appears that the majority of people within the Spade Kingdom itself never wanted this war to happen, they've been holding larger-scale protests to drive attention. The imposing forces though are obviously taking more time out to have complete and unanimous control before war begins...using their...brutal, methods assumedly."

"This is messed up!" Asta exclaimed in frustration as he slammed his fist downwards.

Yami took the moment to keenly observe Asta's behaviour, "He's gotten more aggressive. I'm not sure whether it's his passion against this, the devil amplifying the rage inside of him, or both. Yeah, now Vanessa brought it even more into my attention, his behaviour is beginning to tilt at times with more vigour and passion. But...his morals are all the same, in that sense, he's still the Asta I knew first."

"How can they treat their own people so cruelly!? With such resentment towards their rulers, attacks within Spade homeland will surely increase riots and get some of them on our side! We could crush them internally too!" The hot-blooded mage continued.

"I hope you realise this Kingdom does turn it's back on your pretty hard too," Yami sighed.

"Once it did, and maybe a few times more but-"

"He's right young one," Mereoleona sadly sighed too, "discrimination happens in all of our societies, sadly. But, that's the exact reason we're trying to burn through it, so talent like you can shine. But where we're trying to overcome, they still try to oppress, that's what separates us truly."

Charlotte glanced sympathetically at the young child as he looked more dejected by the sad reality from the truth of their words, "Such a poor soul, he really has his mind set on changing the world even when it turned its back on him. He's a child I heard much about from Yami, unknown parents, unknown birthplace, nothing. On top of it all he held no magic, making him a complete outcast to society. I find it hard to believe that a child who doesn't know himself, and has been turned on by the world at every corner would endeavour so hard to see the goodness in it all. It's...admirable...as well as Yami for nurturing the boy so well. I hope he manages to eventually find himself too then, as well as his bloodline."

Jack looked impatient as he pushed the conversation onwards, "Yeah, yeah, the world sucks, has done for a long while. But the kid's right that it'll cause much more unease and rebellions if we were to take some land from them ourselves so it'd be good to send decent assets up there too. But regardless, how are these small tournaments gonna work? With two weeks on the clock we should have enough time for this and the setting up for the war beginning."

"To put it plainly, with our nine squads, I will split you into three small tournaments of three squads. I will leave it down to you captains to categorise the mages you have at hand into the three remaining positions. As for these squads, I will be grouping together: Golden Dawn, the Black Bulls and the Crimson Lions; the Silver Eagles, Coral Peacocks and Azure Deers and finally the Blue Roses, Green Mantis and Purple Orca," The King thoroughly explained, "you may organise the fights however you like, whether it be a one vs one vs one, paired matches or basic one on ones. You will be permitted further testing on other candidates outside of the tournaments of course, but results must be with me within a week."

"Yay! We get to fight the mighty Eagles!" Dorothy cheered.

"That doesn't bode well for your squad, or mine!" Rill cheered as tears of genuine sadness flowed down his face in a complete contrast.

Yami held his head in his right arm as he left his other on Charlotte still, "Dear oh dear, we got a right tough batch to deal with, but, we're up for it, right Asta?"

"Right!" Asta exclaimed with a huge grin, "I get to see how much Yuno has grown!"

"Another seven centimetres these past six months," William answered abbruptly.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT BUT WHAAATTTT!" Asta burst, "he's gonna leave me to look like a dwarf!"

"Maybe these are the genes that run in your family," Yami sighed, "still, you're quite the short ass! You're still even a bit shorter than Mimosa!"

Charlotte took a deep and nervous breath, "I suppose all the sarcastic and harsh comments he gives to the little boy are out of love too. The more you bicker, the closer you are after all. Given the boy's past, I'm not surprised he gets along with Yami in such a way, he must be a father-figure to him really." Her face suddenly turned a pure strawberry red, "SO IF I MARRY YAMI DOES THAT MEAN I HAVE TO BE A MOTHERLY FIGURE!?" She started taking short and harsh breaths as she rapidly shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! I'm getting well too far ahead! He doesn't even love me yet..." she glanced to the arm he left resting on her, "...does he?"

"That virtually concludes this meeting though. We have a general arrangement of troops in mind but that will be left for a full overview as soon as we find what mages we have in tow. Please go to the reception after though, it would be a good time to further your bonds with one another in a difficult time. I can't make myself appear for obvious reasons, but I leave the controlling of the event to your faithful hands," The King concluded.

"Thank you for having invited me, sir!" Asta bowed as he saluted.

"Aha it's no issue. I have high hopes for you from now on in this war, so just do your best to break through those flimsy limits of yours once more," he responded with a gleaming smile.

Yami crushed Asta's head with an iron grip, "Breaking limits is something he specialises in! These corrupt bastards won't know what hit 'em soon enough!"

Asta blushed with a flimsy smile as a response as everyone slowly began to depart to the reception, "R-right!"

---

The afternoon had come so quickly as darkness began to diminish all sheds of light in the sky, leaving nothing but a full moon and dozens upon dozens of twinkling stars. It decorated the sky elegantly as the light twinkled so beautifully in the eyes of those who admired.

The reception room was much larger than most anticipated so it could fit oceans of mages, you could never really see to the other end of the room at a single time as there was always at least a single mage covering someone's view from how densely packed it truly was. Even so, everyone seemed rather bright and cheery, despite the gloomy future that awaited them.

"Asta! Don't eat so fast! You'll start choking again! I've already had to save you twice! You've gotten all eyes of attention given how vulgar you're acting! I-it's embarrassing!" Noelle blushed as she restrained his arms loaded with delights.

"But I haven't eaten all day! Besides, I'm used to all eyes being on me, I'm a peasant after all," Asta groaned.

"That's no reason to stand out more! You should prove to them how well mannered you are and so on! You want to leave a good impression, right!? You've eaten enough to feed yourself for a week!" Noelle urged as she struggled to restrain him.

Asta caved in at seeing her desperation as he lowered his delights, "Ah, fine, just for you. I guess it'd be selfish to keep drawing attention to you too."

Noelle shuddered and twisted herself slightly in embarrassment as she blushed, "He's being considerate...for me?"

"But if there's so much of an issue with you being seen with a peasant then I don't get why you'd hang around with me in the first place, at least at times like these," he turned his back, "I don't get what you royals have against peasants anyway...we're all human yknow..."

"N-n-n-no Asta I didn't mean it like that I'm so-!" Noelle clawed in immediate regret.

"Forget it," Asta coldly cut her off as he began away from her, leaving to anywhere but near her.

Noelle looked down to the ground, dejected, "Dammit! What am I thinking!? I'm trying to restrict him for my own selfishness… All I want to do is bring him closer to me...but I keep pushing him away..."

Nozel and Yami both stood together, watching the event from a distance, "Poor choice of words," Nozel sighed.

"It's the first time I've seen the kid get upset from her words like that, things must be feeling rough still for him with so much going on," Yami sighed, "they'll probably have an awkward remainder of the night but they'll make up soon."

"I never thought Noelle too would set her relations with others back in such a way, I thought her to be more considerate and responsible," Nozel shook his head in disappointment.

"Setting back relations is somet you got no business shaming others for yourself. Besides, she's been more awkward around Asta like that recently, I think she got the hots for him," the swordsman chuckled.

Nozel zoomed a keener look into Noelle, looking into her mannerisms, "Is that so? Given their adventures together I guess it'd be partially expected."

Yami tilted his head in confusion, "Ain't this the part where you mock other royals for being involved with lesser people?"

"Asta's no more a person than I. He's made me realise I don't want to live in the times of old, nobody should be discriminated against for where they come from or how much money they have in the bank," Nozel fully turned to face his converser, "we're all human after all. Honestly, if Noelle doesn't improve her attitudes, it'll be her who's the unworthy one."

Satisfied, Yami smiled slightly, "You're right there. I'm liking this new Nozel that's come out of you."

"Don't get used to it," Nozel slyly replied as they chuckled amongst themselves.

From another point though, Solid watched it unfold too, a sudden rage of misunderstanding influencing him as he began towards the no-magic freak, "You little bastard," he murmured as he saw the frustrated look of the boy and Noelle's despised face. He never heard the words of the talk too, but filled in the gaps of his own mind as he progressed.

"Hey there, Asta," William greeted as the slightly frustrated mage passed before him, with Mimosa close by.

"William!" Asta greeted too as he forced a smile, as hard as it felt to perform, "I hope all's been well!"

William brought out his smile too, as well as Mimosa as he bowed his head, "I wanted to thank you for your efforts today. You are quite courageous for such a young spirit, already seeing the battlefield as maturely as many adults."

Asta embarrassingly scratched the back of his head, "It's nothing, I just gotta be as mature as I can in such a serious time."

"You sound like you did amazing!" Mimosa cheered too as she too offered a friendly smile.

"But, I would also like to offer my apologies," William sadly said.

Confused, Asta shook his head, "What for?"

William painted a face of guilt on his face, "I'm sorry that you were chosen to try and be used to take the fall for the whole country. Most of this mess is my fault, yet you're the one who must suffer, simply because you're an easy target in their eyes from your vulnerability."

"Aw, come on! None of this is your fault, so don't worry about it, it's the council's fault not your own. Regardless, I'd happily take the fall for any of you, though I'm going to fight and prove my innocence regardless."

"That's the fierce chatter I like to hear!" Mereoleona boomed as she admired the young boy, "never take the easy way out at times like this! That's what is so admirable about you!"

Mimosa nodded, "Right! We're gonna support you right to the end!"

"Oh and just to add, I wasn't sure if you'd bumped into one another yet, but I had lured Yuno along with me, he was so desperate to be able to see you again," William intersected.

Asta looked even further embarrassed, "W-well th-!" Before he finished releasing the words from his mouth, he suddenly felt the warm feeling of rage as he was blasted across a dozen or so meters from a kick to his ribs. He was caught so off-guard as he tumbled with no recovery, landing on the floor on his hands and knees. He glanced up as he saw the troublemaker that attacked him, Solid.

"Hey, hey! What's the big idea? Upsetting my sister you bastard!?" Solid boomed as he began towards Asta, catching the attention of the whole room as they spread away from the two clashing mages.

"What on Earth do you think you're doing?" Mereoleona growled in annoyance, looking towards the shocked Asta, his bandages already loosening.

"Asta!" Mimosa panicked as she ran forth, going down alongside him in concern as she saw the loosening bandages too as fresh blood seemed to be flowing from the impact, "who do you think you are to assault someone in such a place you fiend!"

Asta tensioned his whole body as he mumbled to his support, "Don't worry about me...I'll handle this..." She gave a concerned look as she eventually managed to retreat herself from the path of the angry mage.

"I'm giving this bastard what he deserves for his actions! Peasants nowadays are really full of themselves, thinking they can treat royalty however they like! I need to staple down on fools like this!" Solid continued.

"Who the fuck are you to-" Asta began before being knocked further back by a kick to the head.

Noelle's panic suddenly set in as she tried to lurch forth, "Brother no! It's not what you-"

Nozel laid an arm in front of her as he didn't falter his direction from the fight, "Let this be. He might be going to learn a special lesson in some minutes time. A lesson to not underestimate peasants."

"I'm royalty you fool! And you're just a peasant! For you to upset a royal in such a way, I wish I could kill you now myself!" Solid stomped his foot against the ground as he noticed the lack of resistance from the boy as he slowly tried to lean up.

"The Silva family, I know. I've had the sadness of having to talk to you one too many times by now," Asta grunted as he fully stood up in front of Solid's face, blood starting to drizzle down his nose.

There were constant gasps of awe and wonder as the crowd of people watched ever so keenly...constantly mumbling, "How can he talk to the Silva household so!" "What an unpleasant sight!" "What does that young boy think he's doing upsetting a royal!?" "What is a peasant doing here!?"

Yuno, from the nearest corner to Asta, frowned, unsatisfied with the murmurs of the people, "Who do these people think they are?" He clenched his fist as he prevented himself from acting, "I trust you to take care of these idiots yourself."

"What a troublesome boy, how did the likes of you ever creep themselves into here?" Nebra sighed in disappointment, "must have used some underhanded tricks to manipulate someone to let you in! The scum like you should be purged."

"I see now," Asta grunted as he pulled himself up, only to be punched back down again as the crowd became more restless and uneasy with each second.

Alecdora entered the fray too, looking down on the beaten child as he approached from behind, "A peasant like this in such a blessed place?" He looked down at the blood that dripped from him to the floor, "AND YOU DARE BLEED TO THE FLOOR!?"

Things only went from bad to worse as David Swallow followed after Alecdora, juggling his dice as William became uneasy at seeing two of his members in such a situation, "This is the kid that was judged to have a devil inside of him, right? He must have forced his way though with that unsightly power!"

The crowd's unease grew even further and more panicked as they shuffled more and backed further away, "A devil!? We shouldn't just let him go, he'd need to be punished or killed with that power!" "This must be how he made it to be the second best mage of the last year, by using this evil power! He must be stopped!" "Just kill him! We have no need for peasant scum!"

"This is eno-" William began.

"Leave it to the kid. He'll set it straight, Yami huffed as he did his best to contain the anger swelling inside of him too. "To think these bastards are supposed to be knights..."

William complied as he begrudgingly backed away, many other mages defensive of Asta catching wind and lowering their aggressions.

"Honestly, never mind using the power of the devil, he's practically one himself! To think you're even allowed to talk to us disgusts me! The likes of you have no place here!" Nebra continued as she added fuel to the fires of rage.

"I wanted to think that Yami was wrong," Asta began as he found himself rising once more, raising the levels of confusion, "I didn't want to believe that the Kingdom has it's back on me."

Solid stomped forth once again, "Of course it has! Why would we accept a fiend like you!"

"My whole life, I've been constantly battling against prejudice,"Asta said lowly, "constantly usurping a hill steeper than I could ever wish to find my grip on. Having no magic, left society to turn on me for the rest of my life I thought it could be. That was until I had this power, and I nurtured and developed with the guidance of others, from others who actually gave a shit about me and the future I had in my sights. Despite all your hate that you stencil onto me, I'll never cave into the despair you pour upon me, because in reality...I surpassed you lot long ago when I abandoned my limits."

"Such confident talk for a manaless boonies boy. All those words mean nothing from a devil though. Nothing from an impure heart can be true," Alecdora tutted.

Asta turned a furious eye to the provoker, "Judging by how weak all your ki levels are, it only leads me to believe you are simple abusers of status. Each of you are royalty or nobles that looks down on others, and I don't know where the fuck you stand Solid and Nebra given the shit way you treated your youngest sister. All you are, is hippocritial."

Solid struck him with vigour as Asta's bandages were moments from unveiling, "YOU DARE INSULT ME!?"

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ROYALTY IN SUCH A WAY! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU STAND!" Nebra raged too as she resisted her own urges.

"I was the one who had to defend her from you, you twisted siblings of hers. Just because I had a single disagreement with her doesn't give you the chance to become hero. Believe it or not, all healthy bonds suffer turbulent times, but I won't let your false ideals cloud what I have with everyone else," Asta grunted.

Noelle looked down in slight relief as she felt her heart warm, "H-he never took it to heart...he know where my intent rested..."

"Sheesh! And this is the fool we must rely on for the war? To think the king found any trust in a devil is...saddening. You must of manipulated the poor soul!" David swayed the topic, "you were truly right in calling him a devil!"

"I'm no devil," Asta thundered.

Unease only continued to expand as Asta's phrases grew more furious and chilling one after another.

Alecdora seized the moment, "Many saw it happen themselves! You used your devil power to defend the girl! It was there for all to see!"

"Yes, that's right. I saved the girl using my power because it was the only way to save her. Just because I possess such a power doesn't make me a devil, it never made me liable enough to take the fall for all before they made it so, fabricating so much and pushing my sanity to it's limits. I refused to accept their ideals of justice," Asta responded.

"The law and justice do not lie," David shook his head in disapproval.

Asta became even more raged as he pierced a fierce gaze into Swallow too, "You're saying the butchering of an innocent girl is justice? Would you have watched that girl die in front of you to the hands of the unknown just to mould yourself safe in a thread of lies? Saving lives is supposed to be part of a knight's job too, to let her die would be to deny fulfilling our duty. And if you'd let her die to save yourself, I don't know where your morals lay in your role as a magic knight behind selfishness. I know whatever I say now won't be good enough for you, it never will to those who always look for the darkness in others. I'll never be fairly recognised by ignorant royals and nobles like yourselves."

The group were briefly silenced as they struggled to find their place to stand in the moral battle. Each one of them lacking further input to counter his words.

"All of you embody what the Wizard King wanted to blot out in this world, I don't see how you can be so denying of your own actions," Asta coldly continued, "regardless, you people now are the exact types of people I wanna rid this world of. I'm going to become Wizard King, and rid the world of scum like you all!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Solid raged as he swung one last blow across Asta's face, "A DREAM LIKE YOURS CAN NEVER BE REALISED BY THOSE LIKE YOU!" This time though, Asta stayed strong on his feet as he felt his head twist from the force of his punch, but still, he remained confident in his spot as he slowly reversed the blow, glancing into his threat's eyes as he prepared a fully-powered strike.

"WHO ARE YOU, TO DECIDE MY DREAMS!" Asta raged as he forced back against the blow Striking Solid with an aggressive blow across the face as he blasted him long through the floor. Everyone was left in a brief moment of shock at the raw power as Solid seemed already badly damaged from the single blow.

Slowly, and delicately, Asta's bandages unravelled, unveiling his bruised and bloody body as his wounds began to reopen, long streams of blood flooding down his face as several other wounds began to drip too.

Mimosa looked anxious as she tried to hold back all of her worry that was invading her mind, "Be careful Asta! You haven't recovered yet! You'll lose too much blood if you aren't cautious!"

"What the hell are those wounds?!" Nebra gasped as well as many others, "they're so unsightly."

"They're from me, and he's recovering like it's nothing! And this..." Yami pointed to his cheek, "is from him. Just so you know what you're up against."

The group's nerves inflated slightly as a wave of shock overtook the room, "This twerp trained with Yami? He managed to wound Yami!?" Solid thought in shock as he clenched his fists.

Nebra flicked her hair, "How unsightly! Everything about you is hard to look and be around!"

"Sorry," Asta grinned as life began to return to his character, "this is just who I am!"

"Oh dear," Yuno grinned, "I guess he hasn't been holding out at all these last months. To think he'd be able to grow so much..."

Sylph flew out of thin air as she twisted in front of Yuno's face, "But he's still no match for the likes of you!"

Admirably, he watched on over his rival, "I'm not so sure about that."

"That's good!" Mereoleona boomed in praise, "now prove your strength to them and surpass these fools!" Asta seemed to ready himself as his grimoire appeared before him, analysing the four threats he had to consider as his support thought deeply into herself once again, "This kid is something else altogether. I've known it since the start, but I like it! He's the type of character all captains would froth over. I suppose Yami's foresight must have far outdone the likes of everyone else. He saw a diamond in the rough."

"Such an unsightly monster isn't worth our time, surely," David sighed as he turned his head in disgust.

"I agree, effort shouldn't be wasted on this scum," Alecdora despised.

Everyone watched in awe as Asta released his Destroyer sword, slowly lifting it from his grimoire as he set it confidently set it to his side, "You're the one who isn't worth my time asshole, you don't get to decide my worth. Right here, right now, I'm gonna show you bastards the power of a peasant. You can look down on me all you like, you have done for so long now, but I won't let you get in the way of my dreams."

William intervened at last with a sly smile to his face, "Alecdora, David, you must fight now. That's an order as command." Their faces looked more uneasy as they glanced towards one another, but did their best to maintain their cocky faces as they unleashed their grimoires.

"The same does apply to you both, Solid, Nebra. You must finish the conflicts you provoke," Nozel mimicked.

"Asta...to think I caused this because I was mistaken to be the hurt one… I've really dragged him into a mess once more… How does he have the capacity to forgive me?" Noelle sadly thought as she looked to the floor.

"I suppose we have to crush this roach!" David laughed wildly as he tossed his dice, rolling a six, "perfect! All teams spells are maximum strength! Time to crush this kid!"

Nebra sighed as she attacked, her attitude unwavering, "So be it! Binding Threads!" A wave of mist shaped like a web blasted forwards towards Asta, him unflinching as he let the thread-like mist bind around him as he felt slightly restrained.

Solid soon added as he opened his grimoire, "Water locking serpent!" Asta was also suddenly surrounded by a sphere of water as he noticed a coiled serpent spiralling towards him before forming into the sphere. No air was left for him to breathe, but he maintained his cool head as he held his breath for the time, seeming casual about his predicament.

"Let me seal you away for good!" Alecdora proclaimed as he held his hand forth, "Armour Clad Sandbox!" A cube of sand added to the mess as it reinforced around Asta, seemingly piled with infinite amounts of grains as it formed strange patterns throughout.

"This was done before he was even given the chance to use such ugly power," Nebra sighed as she began closing her grimoire. Before it closed though, there was a sudden slash, a line that sliced through the centre of all the compiled attacks at once. They seemed as confused as one another as their attacks quickly withered away, leaving nothing but Asta with his Slayer sword drawn too as it trailed behind him from the cut.

There was a gaping silence as fresh blood flooded from Asta's wounds. He seemed as serious as ever, yet disappointed at the same time, "Those were similar to attacks you used on me the first time you tried to restrict my freedom. Is that seriously as powerful as they get? I thought that would be pathetic for people of your status."

Yami couldn't contain himself as he chuckled aloud but maintained his thoughts in his head, "What a cocky bastard, I love it!"

Yuno found it hard to contain himself too as he covered his mouth softly to withhold any chuckles, "I'd expect nothing less of my rival I suppose."

"If that's as high as you can reach though," Asta suddenly blasted like a bullet over to David with his Slayer sword already in motion of it's swing, his cold words finally came into full force, "I won't waste my time on fodder." He slammed his weapon downwards on the mage as he had no time to react at all, making him one with the floor as he was immediately knocked out in the instant of the lightning fast attack.

The other mages backed off nervously, seeing the kid's calm and deadly nature at the moment.

"Th-this goes beyond what I thought was possible for peasants! He doesn't even seem influenced by the devil power at the moment!" Solid gawped.

"I'm going to beat you all without the power you falsely label me for, right here and now," Asta thundered as he began towards Alecdora next with a ferocious yet determined look.

"As single hit did him in so much? I can't risk-" Alecdora began his thought process.

Before he had a chance to finish his process, Asta was right up in his face, refraining from attacking as his target managed to back away in line with Solid and Nebra.

Nebra launched a wave of mist towards Asta to cloud his vision as both she and Alecdora began shooting rapid burst of sand and mist towards the target, "Good luck sensing these attacks you manaless failure!"

Asta maintained his calm head as he concentrated on his ki, seamlessly cutting through every last attack the blasted at him, "There's something else...a growing ki… If they're both attacking me and they're so unskilled that they can't perform two attacks at once, that means Solid is charging an attack."

"Ha, he may be manaless but it doesn't mean he can't detect ki you dumbasses," Yami chuckled as he could see through it all, sensing Asta's calm and contained attitude suddenly as he was dealing with one thing after another, "his ki sensing has drastically improved during his training, it'll serve him well soon enough."

After a short while of easy defence, Solid finally finished charging his attack, holding his arm forth and proclaiming, "Holy Water Assassination Bullet!" He was full of confidence with an ugly grin as he edged forth, "Just see what your pitiful swords can do against a royal power!"

Swiftly, Asta swiped his slayer sword across himself as an invisible wave of anti-magic spread in front of himself, yelling, "Phantom Strike!" All his opponents found themselves utterly confused as all the smaller projectiles that had been launched by the mages shattered all at once, as well as the mist as a whole, striking them sharply in the hands at which they shot from as they were forced back.

"What was that!?" Mimosa exclaimed in awe as she saw Asta prepare to counter Solid's attack.

"He sent out a wave of anti-magic energy invisible to the human eye. It seems strong enough to shatter smaller masses of energy, but unable to shatter anything even of a relatively moderate size," Mereoleona analysed as her grin only widened, "what a peculiar use of a peculiar power. The boy knows how to think outside the box."

"I'd expect nothing less from such a talent!" Klaus praised as he suddenly appeared alongside Mimosa.

"Klaus!" Mimosa exclaimed in shock, "when did you arrive here?"

Klause seemed perplexed. "What do you mean? I've been here the whole time."

Mimosa rolled her eyes, "No you haven't! You only just came now!"

"Ah, I see your attention was captivated by Asta that you never fully realised me," Klaus sighed in disappointment, "an issue we all share."

The young healer was stunned into complete and utter confusion as her jaw was left hinged open, "N-no he wasn't here! O-or was I really too focused on my beloved? Is he catching my attention so wildly!?" Her cheeks were overwhelming with a bright red as she was practically steaming in embarrassment. Mereoleona stared down at the youth in complete confusion and nothing more.

The water attack blasted towards Asta at a rapid rate but it was nothing he couldn't read with a little effort as he steadied himself in an instant, "YOU CAN TAKE YOUR PRECIOUS ROYAL MAGIC, RIGHT BACK!" He slammed his slayer sword at full force against the magic as it shot like a bullet back at Solid, giving him no time to react as he crashed into the floor. "I don't fancy wasting more time on you all, so just give up now while you can see the difference in our power."

"You can't be serious?" Yuno sighed from behind Asta as he shook his head, his ally turning around to face him, "what version of Asta have I stumbled on? Since when would you ever let an opponent off so easy?"

"Yuno!" Asta smiled as he received a smile back, "I'd been waiting so long to find you, you tall bastard. I should have expected you'd be lurking while I had to get dirty!"

Yuno shrugged without a care in the world, "The goddess of the battlefield must love you to fight. You end up in a full-on fight every other day at this point. Can't say I'm not envious."

Asta recaptured his dwelling sword as he placed a hand to his hip, "The battlefield is inviting you right now to aid your fellow peasant if you wasn't so lazy."

"YOU PEASANT SCUM DON'T COMPREHEND THE ROYALTY YOU'RE FACED WITH! I WON'T LET YOU TARNISH THE SILVA NAME!" Solid raged as he held his hand forth, "I'LL SURPASS MY OWN LIMITS JUST TO KILL YOU!"

"Tch! I'll do so along you, brother!" Nebra added.

Nozel looked down in disappointment as Noelle read him well, "He's normally quite a blank face, but this time, I can really feel his disappointment oppressing the area. He's not happy it seems, but not for them losing to Asta, but for their oppressing of Asta."

Alecdora dragged himself back up too as he held his open grimoire ahead of himself, "I've waded so deep that I cannot let myself fall now! I will not let down the name of Golden Dawn."

"Go and finish off those fools," Yuno encouraged, "don't let me down."

"Sheesh, you're the one who needs to focus on the not letting down part," Asta turned from Yuno as he steadied his position and let the Silva sibling's rages overtake the presence at the moment.

The Silvas held hands with one another as they shouted together, "COMPOUND MAGIC: UNFORESEEN DEATH-BRINGER!" The area was once more covered in mist as a giant serpent crafted of water launched forth. It seemed much larger and more detailed than the spell Solid normally shot out as it seemed also to be surrounded by armour too, crafted from mist, "WE'LL PRESERVE THE SILVA NAME!"

Alecdora began shooting dozens upon dozens of projectiles towards Asta at every second that went by as they seemed to grow in strength and size by each second, with many too homing in on Asta. Still though, he seemed unflinched as he walked towards the danger ahead. "I can't let you peasant scum tint the purity of Golden Dawn."

"Damn they seriously wanna hurt him," Yami puffed as he glanced towards Nozel who looked his direction too, "I think we both know what happens next though."

William himself was left to wallow in disappointment as he shook his head, "Asta is no stain I've come to realise. Now you must realise your errors too it seems."

Mimosa fidgeted around nervously as she gripped to Klaus, "I don't get it! Why do people have to be so mean to Asta!? He's a lovable boy!"

"Unfortunately, some don't like to see the world as equally as we we do," Klaus sighed, "but I suppose that's why we're pushing Asta's dream so far, so we can see a world where everyone can see the same, regardless of their situation."

Mimosa rapidly nodded her head, "Right! We're gonna help Asta become the Wizard King!"

"The only people here oppressing your squads are yourselves!" Asta thundered as he held his blade ready for the serpent ahead which was significantly ahead in distance from the sand attacks. "Even so, I'm not just fighting to prove the worth of an outcast," Asta continued as he edged to the side of the serpent, effortlessly dragging his blade through it to slice it in half so elegantly as he twisted his blade to it's flat edge as he began to swing it like a giant fan ahead of himself, "I'm fighting to protect the name and my family in the Black Bulls!"

Asta swiped his Slayer sword in front as a massive wave of anti-magic energy blasted towards the hundreds of targets like a huge gust of wind, "FULL REFLECTION!" All the projectiles that blasted towards Asta suddenly changed direction back towards the three oppressors.

"WH-WHAT!?" Alecdora exclaimed in shock as he instinctively raised an as dense wall of sand that he could make in the moment. It wasn't much help though, as most penetrated through the measly defence and connected to the targets.

Noelle gawped in awe once more, "Wh-what the hell was that!? That was incredible!"

"It seems similar to his Phantom Strike from before. He just altered the pressure of the attack so that it would reflect the attack rather than completely neutralising it," Nozel observed.

"I think it's about time you nobles and royals started looking down," Asta boomed once more as he slashed through the measly defence, appearing behind them all as they were off their guard, "because otherwise...YOU WON'T SEE THE FAILURES THAT ARE RISING FOR YOU!"

Asta slashed his blade once more in a single instant, slashing all three at once as they all were blasted away promptly, tumbling against the floor as they collapsed together, losing the grip on their conscience just like David.

A long silence filled the room upon Asta's triumph as he wallowed there in all his bloodiness, the blood practically painted a new coat as the flow seemed as relentless as a waterfall. Asta glanced towards Nozel and Noelle, "Oh yeah, sorry for beating up your siblings by the way."

Nozel came forth towards Asta before placing his hand on his shoulder, "There is no need to apologise. I should thank you for coping with them in an already ragged state, I believe you'll have taught them a valuable lesson today, as long as you didn't hit them hard enough they forget."

"Took you long enough," Yuno sighed as he approached, "were the wounds that much of a set-back or were you just not trying that hard?"

"Probably the latter," Yami puffed as he put his muscly hand on his ally's head, "Guess you did good again kid, still a lot more left to do though."

Noelle looked down to the floor as she feasted her eyes on the pools of blood he stood in, "Asta..." She couldn't muster the words out of her mouth as she remained silent, staying beside Yami upon his approach.

"Asta! I'll tend to your wounds now! I can't have you bleed out on me!" Mimosa panted as she dragged him from his spot to a clearer space to begin healing, "you pushed yourself so far again!"

"Thanks Mimosa!" Asta cheered with a jolly smile, "that fight took nothing out of me really. The only drag were my already existing wounds, but they were no problem as a whole. I wish I didn't have to fight them all but I had no choice."

Klaus appeared alongside Mimosa as Yuno migrated over to the wounded boy too, "Unfortunately we haven't found ourselves in a world of equality yet, we'll have to keep cutting down injustice until the we find that world."

"You've definitely improved, Asta," Yuno complimented, "I hope I get to fight you in the battles Captain William told me of. I just need to settle how much further I've pulled away since the Royal Knight Exams."

"I think you'll be finding that I pulled away now!" Asta boasted.

Nero suddenly made herself known as she landed upon Asta's head catching all eyes of those surrounding Asta, "There's a significantly higher chance that Yuno is still stronger."

"Aww, Nero! You're supposed to back me up here!" Asta whined as he suddenly felt the blood stop flooding out of his body, "I'm feeling much better now Mimosa! Thank you so much!"

Mimosa blushed slightly as she began to re-wrap the bandages over his exposed wounds, doing so slowly but tenderly, "A-ah! It's nothing! This is my job after all primarily!"

"Still, I'd be a goner without you!" Asta insisted.

"Are we gonna ignore this talking bird?" Yuno questioned in utter confusion, "what or who the hell is it and why can it talk?"

Klaus ducked down and keenly observed Nero, "A talking bird? How most peculiar! I think I recognise it from some other encounters we had together, but it could never talk back then!"

Mimosa's memory ran quickly as she looked up to the confused males while still bandaging her patient, "Oh! Yuno, she was the girl who apparently sealed Asta's wounds during the fight while I was elsewhere! She was human but can seal herself into this bird form now!"

"If I was only there to help...I'd understand so much more," Klaus wallowed to himself.

"You didn't miss much other than the Kingdom nearly collapsing," Yuno shrugged.

Sylph flung into the face of the bemused Nero as she pierced her eyes into her, "So this is a real girl eh? Are you trying to take Yuno from me too!?"

Nero stared on without a care in the world as she didn't even focus her eyes onto the spirit, "I'm content with Asta. I don't care about taking your wind mage."

"Good!" Sylph turned her back as she folded her arms with a pout.

"And done!" Mimosa exclaimed in glee as she tucked in Asta's bandages neatly, "this should do you well for now since this isn't an ideal place to use my cradle, I'll seal your wounds back at the base!"

Asta leapt back onto his two feet as he pulled a wide smile, all bloodshed washed away once more, "Sounds good to me! I'm gonna enjoy a breeze from the balcony on my own and with Nero I guess, have some nice chatter for me, I need some good air!"

"Is something wrong, Asta?" Klaus questioned as he adjusted his glasses.

"Nothing's wrong! I just want some fresh air flowing after my fight," Asta sighed as he began away with his hands behind his head as everyone else watched him on his leave.

"Oi! Asta!" Mereoleona beckoned to the manaless child, delaying his leave as he turned around to the fire mage who stood right before him, her arms tightly crossed with her devil-like tooth leaking over her lip.

Asta turned himself around, "Mereoleona? Is something wrong?"

"I want you to come see me tomorrow," she bluntly said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I want to help you before the squad battles. Meet me tomorrow at the main entrance to this building and we're going to do some training too. Yami may have pushed you but that doesn't mean there's nothing I want to do with you too."

Slightly bewildered, Asta nodded his head, "Why do you want to help me before we go against your own squad?"

"I told you already, didn't I? I haven't paid you back for saving my life quite yet. Besides, I have my eyes more set on getting you stronger to face the Dark Triad, consider this the first step to me paying you back," Mereoleona sternly said.

"Saving your life was just part of my duty, you don't need to pay me back so," Asta nervously chuckled.

Mereoleona grasped Asta's head with a flame claw as she raised the nervous boy to her height, "You have no choice regardless, I'm going to throw you towards becoming the Wizard King if I have to! I don't care what some high and mighty nobles and royals have to say to you, you're gonna just cut through them all anyway, right?"

Energetically nodding his head, Asta replied, "Right! Thank you for you help Mereoleona!"

"Good, you're free to go," Mereoleona sighed as she tossed the boy to the balcony herself and turned away, not sparing a second thought for the boy as she left to enter a new conversation herself.

"Ah, finally made it," Asta huffed as he pulled himself up, the balcony door closing behind him, leaving the fresh open air for himself as he felt a gentle breeze blow across him, "time for myself."

"Besides me," Nero pointed out as she rested on the balcony railing, glaring up towards her partner.

Asta looked down to the beautiful rows of houses below, "Yeah, of course. I suppose you help me feel like I'm never alone, even when I never knew who you really were. Then again, I guess I've technically known you the second longest out of everyone here or whatever, I don't really keep track."

Nero shuffled closer to Asta as she buried herself in her feathers, "I don't think you'd miss much if I weren't here. For the longest time, I was nothing but a strange bird to you, not much would change without me."

"Like hell, we're only alive because of you. Without you I couldn't have killed that devil. I'm grateful to have you as a friend too. That reminds me, you got back your human form then didn't you, but you're staying in your bird form a lot, just prefer it now? Asta questioned.

"I suppose I'm used to it, turning human feels weird now," Nero sighed as she turned into her alternate form upon the balcony, suddenly becoming the one looking down on Asta as her hair and dress gently blew in the wind. She crossed her legs as she rested on top of the railing offering a gentle smile upon Asta, "besides, being a bird lets me stay closer to you, your hair is always nice and fluffy to rest in."

Asta couldn't help but blush slightly as he tore his connecting vision from her, "I suppose I do like having someone close, it gives me a feeling of reassurance I think." He held a long silence as he looked down to the floor, reflecting on the nightmare he had in the morning as his mind began to wander.

Before his thoughts wandered too far off of track, he felt his chin pinched by Nero as she adjusted his head to look up at her. She stared deeply into him as she read the more saddened expression on his face, "What's wrong? You haven't seemed like yourself for a short while now. I don't sleep near you for a single night and you end up like this?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just had a little nightmare that's all. I'm over it now, I got over it in the morning even," Asta pouted as in the back of his mid he knew he was lying to himself.

"Sure, sure," Nero huffed as she tugged on his cheeks and mocked him, "I must be like a protector for your dreams, you little fool. Do you need me to protect your poor dreams again for you tonight?"

Asta tried to tear his vision away again as Nero kept tugging him back to her, "I'm not a little kid! I can survive a few nightmares!"

Nero glared once more, "You're all talk you know. Regardless, I know you've heard it a lot already from so many others, but..." she let go of her cheeks as she forced him in for a gentle hug, "I'll be here for you too whenever you need. I've got you on a leash virtually so you can't hide much from me. All your bad dreams will be crushed soon enough so don't worry about them."

Noelle was glaring upon them from the inside as she puffed her cheeks further and tightened her fists, "How can she get so close with Asta!? This isn't fair! I haven't even the chance to say sorry dammit!"

"Th-thanks," Asta stuttered in embarrassment as he accepted the embrace, thinking to himself, "what's with all this love and support I've been getting? It's like everyone indeed expects me to die like Julius theorised. If I did die, I suppose I wouldn't mind this support before my end so much. I suppose...this is the last embrace I may even truly receive from some if this war goes to pot. And because of that I guess that means..." Asta hugged her slightly more tightly, "I should relish these moments more than I ever have before."

"I guess I should say also that...I'm sorry Asta..." Nero sorrowfully said as she received a look of confusion, "I'm sorry I never initially believed that you could be like the Wizard King. At first I never recognised it seriously, I thought it was one of those childish dreams, where you set your ambitions as high as possible to only never even live up to half of that ambition. I never took you seriously I guess, but seeing you grow for myself...I see I was wrong. I'm sorry I was never fully behind you."

"Meh, I'm used to adversity, remember," Asta grinned, "I wouldn't let anything stop me even with none of you there to lift me up! But, with all of you behind me, my journey feels much better than walking a lonely path, so I guess I should be thanking you."

Nero smiled as she slowly released him, "I suppose nothing could… But I've seen this journey for so long now that I'm determined to see it through with you I suppose. You're the closest person to me alive at the moment it seems with the First King gone, so I've not got many people else left to me..."

Asta looked confused, "Aw come on! You've got all the Bulls Behind you too! As much as you thrive to uplift me, I'll uplift you twice as much!"

It became impossible to not smile as Nero felt like her muscles formed her smile by herself, "Then I'll uplift you thrice as much!"

"Don't start this with me too!" Asta exclaimed before he found his thoughts disrupted again, with the sound of the balcony door behind him opening and closing so swiftly. He turned himself to the source of the sound as he suddenly found himself faced with Charlotte, "Charlotte! Do you have business with me too!?"

Nero huffed once again as she leant forth onto Asta, seeming rather tired suddenly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulders. Noelle's attention still hadn't been drawn away from their interaction as she only managed to tension herself further, "WHY DO THEY LOOK SO CUTE TOGETHER!? HOW IS SHE SO CLOSE!? IS IT BECAUSE SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN ON HIS HEAD OR SOMETHING!?"

Charlotte seemed rather embarrassed as she leant against the balcony railing and slightly glanced towards Asta, "I'm sorry you were forced into that fight earlier. The behaviour of those peculiar knights was...embarrassing to say the least for me being similar to them in a sense."

"Don't worry about it," Asta lightly laughed as he felt Nero firmly grasping herself onto him as she crawled higher up his back to rest, "there's no need to take responsibility for something that you didn't do."

"I guess so," the captain sighed, "I wanted to check in on your well-being too I suppose, Yami seemed to have worked you to the bone again and fighting in that state I would have imagined to be uncomfortable. I consider the battlefield my partner but even then there's limits to how many battles I'd put myself through. Since you seem to have a frequent battles though, remember not to push your body too far. If you work yourself too much, you'll just end up exhausting your body drastically."

"Right! Thank you for the advice, captain! I suppose I sometimes do a little too much, I'll be sure to not push myself too far!" Asta saluted as he found himself unable to bow.

The briar knight took another huff as she stared aimlessly out into the night sky, "Yami's rambled a lot about you, you know. You're one of his many prides and joys about his squad so a day doesn't go by where he doesn't boast about all your progress," Asta seemed slightly stunned, "given all the talk and praise though, I also heard a lot about your home-town and upbringing too. I'm sorry to hear about it of course, missing a piece of the puzzle isn't the nicest feeling, things always feel wrong when the void is not filled. The fact you rose from nothing while being nothing too is also spectacular to me, I find it hard to uphold willpower such as yours."

Asta glanced over to the captivating sky once more too as he managed to lean against the railing, "I can vouch that it's an uneasy feeling to not know yourself fully, but from my earliest memories, I never see as early as my life at the church anyway, everything else is just a hazy dream so it's easy to neglect and focus on what matters." He stared at his hand as he slowly clenched it into a fist, feeling nothing, "Having no mana has definitely always been a frustration...it's made me despair and stoop as low as I could ever fathom my morale reaching, so the likes of that are the answers I'd like to find first, who I am I suppose is for another day, another journey...like the many I've already found myself on through this life in so little years."

"I see...well I wish you the best of such a journey, I've not quite found myself yet either, or more so I haven't overcome the conflicts in myself. Either way, I suppose we both have something to reach for in this war, Asta," Charlotte gently smiled as she looked towards the mage.

"Right! I expect to meet you at the finish line of this battle, then you can confess to Yami!" Asta cheered.

"Right! W-W-W-WAIT N-N-N-NO!" Charlotte suddenly burst as Asta shattered the ice of the conversation, "W-W-W-WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA I LIKE HIM!?"

Nero struggled to keep her eyes open as she could hardly lift her head from Asta's shoulder, "I've always seen it too, I thought everyone knew about it. You definitely like him."

Asta nodded, "You always acted differently around him that I assumed things had stirred up in some way. Also can't you turn back into a bird, Nero?" he gasped as he began to feel the pressure on his back.

"No, I want to get used to this human form again and I'm tired so you're dealing with this," Nero coldly said.

"You couldn't do it in sleep back at the base?" Asta questioned before feeling his cheek tugged again as Nero hushed him back into silence.

Charlotte's cheeks followed suit to that of many in the day as they burst into a vibrant red colour, "Oh no! Have I been transparent all along!? Does Yami already know!? I've stabbed myself through the heart before it even began!"

"Yami's as oblivious as Asta at romance, he won't be onto you. I'd take advantage of the time to finish this war before you confess, it'll motivate you more," Nero suggested.

"Th-that's smart I suppose," Charlotte sighed as she held her head in her hands, "as much as I hate to admit it. At least I'll have something more to help me carry on, don't fall behind me, Asta, because I don't plan on using the breaks."

"I won't fall behind! I'll be the one looking back! Let's do our best!" Asta cheered as Charlotte nodded to agree, swiftly leaving once more as she contained herself before entry.

Nero slogged even further on Asta as she fully closed her eyes. The carrier let out a sigh of relief, "It's getting dark out so we best head back I suppose. There's a lot of things I'm uncertain on, but what I know now is that we're pretty popular among the Captains, ain't that right, Nero… Nero?" He glanced his head back to see her suddenly fast asleep on top of his back, seeming completely snug and wrapped around him, "You can't be serious! You choose when you're on my back to wander asleep?" he scooped his arms under her legs as he left out a puff of mild frustration, "guess I'll have to carry you back myself to put you to bed, Finral better be here because I'm not walking all the way like this!"

---

"And we're home!" Finral cheered as the group stepped out of his portal, suddenly finding themselves outside the front doors of the Black Bull's base as it had sounded like a party already started from within. The place bustled with so much noise that it was deafening it felt at some moments where the disruption peaked, "It feels just as chaotic as normal!"

"Ah! Finally! Being stuck at the palace so long doesn't feel as natural as here," Asta sighed with Nero still slumped on his back, "I can't wait to see everyone again!"

Noelle stomped through the gate too as she stared fiercely at Nero with her barely containing her frustration.

Mimosa turned towards Asta with a bright and cheery face, "Aw, you two look so cute together! What tucked her out so much?"

"I don't know, she's light enough though so it isn't an issue I guess, it feels just like when I carried you at the Shadow Palace," Asta shrugged as he began onwards alongside Mimosa, "she does seem to sleep later than me most of the time so I guess it's been catching up to her now."

"I can check her out just in case there's something underlying within her," Mimosa offered as Noelle's frustrations continued to grow just listening between the two of them.

"That'd be great, thanks Mimosa! I'll put her to bed and let you check her there. I'll really appreciate it," Asta smiled widely as he did his best to show his appreciation.

Mimosa responded with an even greater smile as she glanced upon Nero, "Don't get too far ahead of yourself! I need to properly heal you too, the healing I used on you is practically like sticking you together with tape compared to my full potential now!"

Asta raised an eye, "Oh? Is that so? I'll be waiting to see your full potential power then! Don't think I'll be holding back if we get pitted against each other in the squad battles though!"

"I won't let you down! I'll prove I can fight by your side!" Mimosa stated as a look of determination overcame her, Asta could see it resonating within her as he seemed satisfied with her resolve.

"He practically has his own walking harem!" Finral sobbed to himself, "why will the ladies never flock to me in such a way!? No...I need to overcome myself!"

"Looks like you few are getting along well," Yami groaned as he breezed past them, "Asta, rest Nero in your room and find somewhere else to sleep, unless you wanna sleep with her since ya a creep and all."

Asta let the words fly through his head as he only took in the vital information and raised his thumb, "Right! We'll go get her sorted!"

"U-um Asta, you can sleep in my room if you'd like. It's big enough to spare space for another person," Mimosa suggested in clear embarrassment.

"I'll be fine thanks! I'm starting to get used to sleeping on the couch, it's just as uncomfortable as being crammed with all my siblings at the church!" Asta cheered.

"You can sleep outside if you want, or with the dogs," Yami thundered as he exerted his intoxicating presence upon Asta, "or even better, one of my bed legs has been seeming a bit unstable so you can act as a new one."

Sweat piled up and drenched Asta as he nervously laughed, "I think I'm fine thanks! The couch is comfy enough!" Mimosa too was practically sweating for him.

Yami slammed his fist against the door as it flung nearly off of it's hinges, revealing all those crammed in the entrance room as absolute chaos ensured as per usual, "Have fun navigating through the first room, you can get hit all you like just don't hurt the sleeping princess on your back."

"Oh look! They're finally back!" Luck exclaimed in excitement as he leapt above Magna's swipes with his flaming bat, "you were gone for so long we thought you got slaughtered by Mereoleona."

"That's a fair assumption," Yami shrugged as he entered forth, walking through the chaos casually as rubble flung everywhere, "and also if you two get stronger eventually you'll be tearing down the building in these brawls, I feel sorry for Henry."

"Focus on me you insect!" Magna screamed as he kept constantly diving and striking at Luck, endeavouring to land even a single hit.

Luck looked down in surprise as if he forgot he was under siege, "Oh, sorry! I forgot you were even trying to hit me with such basic attacks!"

Charmy approached Asta and Mimosa with a banquet of food along with her cooks, "Here! This food will fill your tummy! Being out without my food for so long must have been so hard!"

"Sorry Charmy I'll grab a late snack soon I'm just busy for the moment, I promise I'll be back soon!" Asta affirmed.

"As long as you do I don't mind I suppose, I'll offer it to everyone! Everyone can get a taste of my deliciousness!" Charmy proclaimed in pride as she moved onwards to Noelle and Finral, "eat this goodness, or the sheep will be upset!"

Noelle backed away slowly from the food, "Ah, I had quite a lot today already you see so-"

"Do you wish to upset the sheep gods?" Charmy sternly said as he fierce gaze terrified Noelle.

Finral went along with it as he immediately began tucking in, "Ah! Look at all this delicious goodness! I can't resist it!"

"R-right..." Noelle stuttered as she took some for herself, eating little by little with Charmy's judgemental stare constantly upon her."

"This looks delightful, thank you so much!" Mimosa cheered as she took some food from the cooks as she passed by.

Gauche was still fixed to his picture of his sister as he never tore away his vision for anybody or anything at all. Grey was out of sight, hiding somewhere out of embarrassment once more and Gordon stood ominously in the corner, muttering some strange, unfathomable words.

"Hey, Henry!" Asta beckoned as he spotted the mage, "could you move my room a bit closer for me to here, I need to rest down Nero and my room's a bit of a distance."

"Of…course," Henry nodded as he swiftly shifted the rooms without even having to think, "Second…door...on...the...left...down...the...hall."

"Thank you very much Henry!" Asta waved as he made it through the room with Mimosa in tow before dragging himself down the hall and kicking back into his room, "here we are!" Gently, he lifted Nero off of his back as he laid her down on the bed. He felt all his muscles relax more without the added pressure on his back as he took off her Black Bulls robe to leave her laying there in her normal dress. From what he could see, she did seem to have a slight fever at the least, her temperature seeming to have risen and with more swear flowing down her face and small pants becoming more apparent.

Mimosa went down to her knees to analyse her and deduce the issue as Asta watched on, "She's definitely developed a fever of some kind given her exterior changes, but I feel there's something more to this, this was a sudden development after all. I'll keep a close eye on here tonight and try and figure something out."

Asta stared over them as he thought deeply for a brief moment, "Well, it's been half a year since she gained the ability to switch between forms. We have a different anatomy to birds of course so could it be something to do with the toll of changing between forms? It might have a weird affect on her body."

"I don't know for now. I'll get to the bottom of this for you though, it pains me to see someone so ill," Mimosa sadly said, "you should go enjoy and relax for the rest of the night!"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't wanna leave you to do it all on your own," Asta sighed in some shame at his uselessness.

"Don't worry about it! I do independent healing like this a lot of the time, I've done it on you too so it's not like you have anything to worry about," Mimosa assured.

Vanessa stumbled rather drunkenly into the room as she immediately wrapped an arm around Asta and shoved him against her chest, "You heard the lady Asta! Come enjoy the night before it's too late! You can worry in the morning!"

Mimosa nodded to encourage him to leave as he was practically dragged out regardless, "I promise you can rely on me!"

"I already do!" Asta beckoned as Vanessa drunkenly dragged him out and shut the door, leaving Mimosa in a lonely silence as she looked upon Nero with a slight worry.

"I just pray, Asta, that my theory doesn't come into reality."

---

Thank you for reading! I didn't expect it to end up so long but I went over-the-top again. I hope this was an enjoyable read, the ideas I have keep multiplying and I hope I'll be able to portray them to you all! Have a great day!

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NEXT CHAPTER: The Diamond Resistance