Rapidly, Asta's blood flowed as his adrenaline had rocketed to a maximum, constantly twisting and turning in desperation as he gasped for air through his gritted teeth and constantly meandering saliva. His vision was fiercely connected with Mimosa's as her tears kept dripping upon him and her black veins constantly became more apparent. Thankfully, given Mimosa's efforts to fight her urges, Asta kept constantly on the brink of consciousness, being given enough room to catch some air every now and then.

"These vines..." Asta thought as he cut visual connections with his opponent, looking towards the sources which kept him pinned down, "their ki is weak...I can break these! Whatever is controlling her...hasn't fully done so yet, it doesn't have access to her utmost power!"

"Please Asta!" Mimosa begged as she felt herself fading even further away from normality, the strange feeling that had once started as a little impulse now felt to be controlling her entire body. She felt like a passenger to herself as everything became darker and more deafening, "Stop me...save me!"

Asta gave his all, all at once as he pushed against the vines with everything he had, feeling them suddenly snap as he abruptly launched up and slammed his head against Mimosa's blasting her off and away from him as his lungs were finally free once more. Air inflated them as he let out a sigh of relief, unveiling the Slayer swiftly from his grimoire as he freed his legs, "If I struggled like hell against Zora without weapons, Mimosa would be an impossible fight, I have no choice but to draw blood. Either way, constantly assaulting a defenceless Mimosa with punches would not bode well with my conscience. I just need to work her down into a position that I can use the Destroyer. It feels exactly like the darkness of Zora, emanating the same ki, so dispelling this should be no different."

Agonisingly, Mimosa slowly raised her head, a thick stream of blood flowing down her face from where Asta had made contact with as it began to blend with her tears. She seemed more clearly in agony, each movement she made seeming hesitant with her wincing in pain every other second, seemingly breathing alone looked to cause some pain, "I-I'm s-s-sorry Asta! I...I can't control myself!"

"Sorry, Mimosa," Asta grit as he held his blade out wide, "I'll harm you as little as possible, if at all." "Her body is much more fragile compared to Zora, hitting her with strong attacks would wound her terribly, even kill her in some situations, I won't even consider making a risk like that, so how do I do this the best way?" He pondered as he began fiercely forth, "her attacks are more often based on support, so she won't be able to hit me with something so powerful that it would harm me like that fire attack Zora used on me. Hell, we're supposed to be having squad battles soon, if I'm to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Yuno and Leo, I can't afford critical damage now, I'm already quite fatigued with so many altercations recently that I'll be entering the fights sloppily if I don't give time for myself to refresh. None of this will help that all."

"Tch! N-no!" Mimosa exclaimed as she felt herself moving on her own as her eyes looked slightly more closed, "Stop this! I don't want to hurt Asta! Leave me alone!" Her eyes fully closed as her whole body tensioned further, "I'm losing all control of my magic! It feels like I hardly have a connection to it any more! It's hard enough to mumble a phrase as it is! Why does this have to happen to me!? I don't want this, not at all!"

At last, another wave of darkness pulsated through Mimosa as she let out an agonising scream, her head looking to the sky as her eyes rolled back slightly so hardly any of the pupil itself seemed visible. A more visible wave of darkness excessed off of her as it flooded into the surrounding atmosphere, stirring a strong wind around her as the ground trembled beneath.

"Mimosa!" Asta exclaimed in worry as he pushed against the tremendous gales. Abruptly though, Mimosa's head turned forth as it dawned a much more menacing expression, her veins were more apparent than ever, appearing as a pitch black on the surface of her skin. Though every movement was still staggered, they had much less resistance behind them. "Shit!" Asta thought, "it feels so much worse than when Zora was influenced! It feels so much more oppressive and the ki level is quickly going through the roof! Is this because of her royal blood? Does it have a greater affect?" Asta pushed against the winds more, "Regardless, it looks like I can't let my guard down, her ki is telling me that this is going to be hell to contain."

"Oh?" Mimosa grinned cynically as Asta's eyes spread wide in fear, "this feels much better!" A sudden piercing vine blasted from the ground and straight towards the unsuspecting boy's face. His ki saved him slightly as he dodged to the side, but even then, the vine scraped his right cheek, drawing blood as a long spread of red leaked down his once cleared cheek. "Now I can crush you with much more ease!"

The infested Mimosa plunged forth with a crazed look towards Asta, her body suddenly being coated in a strange, light green aura as dozens of vines suddenly sprouted from the ground, all seeming as sharp as divine blades.

Asta instantly reacted, "She's enhancing her physicality with reinforcement magic! Thinking on it now, I've hardly seen a thing of her current ability, so maybe she has some more offence to her than I realise. It's all out the window though, I know little of her different abilities because she always seemed to train in private...these vines in particular are sharp as hell!"

Instinctively, Asta evaded backwards, leaning back as he slashed vertically, managing to catch all the vines at once as they all withered away. He took the opening to follow up as he used his slight momentum to spin an attack towards Mimosa. Before it reached though, his senses forced him into an evasion as a beam of energy blasted right past his very eyes, missing him by mere millimetres.

"Show me some blood!" Mimosa yelled as she aimed to grasp him once more, "I'll turn you into a fountain of blood!"

"This is a hell of a U-turn on her normal nature!" Asta exclaimed to himself as he dodged backwards once more and begrudgingly made the immediate decision to kick her away, causing her to wince slightly in pain as she seemed minimally affected, "she's normally so kind and caring, but she's only bloodthirsty and aggressive now! This is the exact opposite of the Mimosa I know!"

"Come on, you can't stop me with such minimal attacks! If you want to stop me, you'll have to show me more than that!" Mimosa laughed as she recovered quickly, lurching straight for the bewildered Asta as she simultaneously launched vines from beneath him. One pair wrapped around his feet as one other managed to wrap around his free arm. At the least, he evaded the last vine as he cut swiftly free while avoiding a swinging fist from the threat. He used the moment to grasp a fist of her clothing and dragged her close to clash heads once more.

The Vermillion was left vulnerable as she recoiled back more this time, another stream of blood flowing down her face too as she seemed rather motionless. Asta seized the opportunity though as he pounced upon her, pinning her down sternly as he began to unveil his Destroyer sword, it slowly arising from the grimoire on it's own.

Asta felt some slight desperation now, especially with such an advantage, to end it before it swelled into a greater problem, "Wake up, Mimosa! I know the real you can hear me down there! Fight this! I don't want to hurt you any more!"

"Tch! You're such a sore!" Mimosa grit as she immediately began to push against Asta with little success. Despite all her enhancements, her raw power was too easily overwhelmed as Asta's sword continued to arise, "But...did you really think this would be so easy for you?" A wave of shock hit her opponent as two vines suddenly blasted from the ground, bursting from either side of her body as they travelled in a narrow diagonal line towards Asta.

"Crap!" Asta thought as he immediately tried to evade, but despite his efforts, he was punctured. He successfully evaded one initially, but the other was too well placed, piercing into the left side of his stomach as he let out a cry of pain and stumbled away, blood coating the floor in a clear trail, "I ended up being too careless again! She can summon those vines however she likes, of course she'd pull something like that you idiot Asta! Now what? You've got a deep wound to add to your problems and your opponent has hardly a scratch because you refuse an outright attack!"

"You know this would be so much easier for you if you grew a pair and hit me. You can't win unless you do. You are so much stronger, but of all things, your arrogance will be your downfall!" Mimosa laughed as she held a hand forth, seeming to have an even firmer control over her magic as multiple plants had risen around Asta, each charging a separate attack as vines blasted from all over the place too. There wouldn't be any safe space unless he made it for himself.

Asta pulled the rest of his unveiling weapon from his grimoire, "There will be no downfall for me, because I'm going win! Mimosa deserves better than to have such a horrid thing in control of her!" He glanced around himself at the multiple threats as he tensioned in anxiety, "She's summoning so many attacks at once! Each of them alone can do some serious damage to me if I'm not careful so getting caught in a single combo could end me as is. Even for her age, she has a ridiculous amount of mana. It may not exactly be the likes of the King but it's still immense, and her ki confirms that. It just feels so oppressive like never before. It's as if this darkness has shifted her ki considering she's gone from defensive to offensive so swiftly."

He swiftly began to hack away at the attacks while he was still wallowing in his thoughts, seeming slightly more tranquil in mind as his calmness allowed him to methodically slash all danger away, "I don't believe she has mana-zone at her disposal, but her control of the ground makes it feel like it regardless. All these plants are summoned through the ground, she uses the mana of the environment to craft an attack! If I use my anti-magic to disrupt that connection of her and the environment, then all her attacks should be much easier to deal with! This is serving to be more practice for me then. The only issue is that it has a small area of affect still. I couldn't use my alternate form to the fullest as moving too far away would allow her to reconnect, but I need to use it regardless since I can't concentrate enough anti-magic in my base form yet. This has to be my best bet!"

"You seem quite concentrated there! Are you really having to try so hard for something so measly?" Mimosa taunted as as she held her hand forth, the plants stemming from the ground only increased in frequency as she began to build up some intense mana of her own. She was so focused on him that she noticed his developments though, catching a glimpse of his red eye as his wing began to stem, "It seems things are going to become a lot more fun!"

"Mimosa, brace yourself! I promise I'll end this quickly!" Asta swore as his black form fully came into fruition and he dove forth. "Normally I need to change my weapon into it's alternate form to perform this too, but I have a better feeling for my weapon as a whole now. It won't nearly be as affective as it was against Mereoleona without the boost, but this should be ample!"

"Someone seems eager to end this quickly!" Mimosa cynically chuckled as she evaded to the side, revealing a plant which rapidly grew to multiple times the size of usual ones. In an instant, a dense beam of mana blasted towards Asta, but it was much smaller than Mimosa had anticipated, being comparable to that of her standard attacks from before.

"It's worked! Asta internally rejoiced as he prepared to attack, pulling his weapon back to behind him as he built the momentum for an attack, "honestly, her vines are too tricky to the point that I won't be able to find an opening to dispel the darkness without jeopardising myself gravely. At any opportunity, it takes so long to dispel that she has a chance to severely wound me with an attack. I may have the upper hand, but I have no choice but to try and pass her out myself, simply trying to bring her back clearly didn't work last time considering she got an attack off on me then."

Mimosa glared up in slight annoyance as Asta suddenly appeared before her, his blade in motion, "Oh? So he's weakening my attacks by connecting his anti-magic into the area! It's like mana-zone, he's trying to control the area!" She rolled her eyes, "I have a trickster at play."

At full strength, Asta slammed his weapon into Mimosa, connecting his flat edge against her as she was slammed much further away like she was used as a cricket ball. She tumbled for a short while, dragging the ground up in her quake as she laid rather motionlessly ahead. "That's taken care of that," Asta sighed in relief as he began cautiously forth.

"Not even using your sharp edge against me?" Mimosa chuckled as she swiftly began up as if nothing had happened, the shock halting Asta's movements, "that attack with pitiful. If you actually had any balls, you could have beaten me right then and there, but I've seen most of your tricks now, Asta. Now I can crush you, and you'll hardly even defend yourself because you don't want to hurt me! You lose no matter what!"

"I already told you that I'm going to win!" Asta raged as he launched forth with his weapons at the ready once more. However, this time he never even got the chance to reach her as he was suddenly blast away by an intense gust of wind, stabbing his Slayer into the floor as it left a long gaping trail from his momentum before it finally stopped him.

"That won't come to be. You're a good excuse for me to let loose now at least. Holding back is never fun, so now I've seen most of you, I'll show you most of me," Mimosa confidently said as her eyes pierced an intense gaze through Asta, "this should be a lot more fun!"

Asta raised his guard as Mimosa leapt straight for him herself, "How does so much of her mana stand against my anti-magic? It feels now like she's hardly being oppressed by it at all! Is it...overwhelming it? Is her mana too much? No...if I use my Divider, I might be-"

He was cut off long before he finished his thought as he suddenly found himself evading backwards unsuccessfully as he backed straight into a dense wall of vines which had suddenly risen from the ground. With his back pressured, he was a victim to her attack as she slammed her fist straight across his face, blasting him directly through the vines as he quickly skidded onto his hands and feet.

"What the hell!?" Asta thought in bewilderment, "Mimosa isn't a physical fighter at all! Her bones should be paper by comparison and still that hurt? Is that enchantment able to magnify her physical traits that much? Is that why she took hardly any damage before? The darkness multiplies her power I assumed, but it's done so far more than I anticipated still!"

"Why so idle? Are you quivering so much?" Mimosa continued to stir his frustrations as she launched through the vines. As Asta was beginning to stand though, he felt himself dragged back down again, vines wrapping around his entire body as his hands mainly were restrained.

Fortunately, he managed to resist enough to find an opening, twisting his wrist and managing to cut through the vines grasping his arm before cutting the rest of him free once more, spiralling around as he brought his momentum to meet Mimosa's attack, "I'm on the ropes it feels! How is this happening!? I don't get it!?"

The Vermillion girl came dancing in, her right arm outstretched with an open palm as a beam of energy appeared to have charged in her hand, "Blossoming Impact!"

Asta swung his great sword towards her hand which contained the energy, but it let loose shortly before he reached to dispel it. The great blast felt like a spike in ki for him as he was blasted a long while back, losing his footing as he tumbled through the floor with no control. Before he had a chance at all, he felt another great portion of vines envelop him with many more tangling his arms using their full length to prevent any movement at all. This time he was given no time though as it ran thin in a single moment.

"Gotcha!" Mimosa cheered as she wrapped her right arm tightly around Asta's neck, using her other to support the arm which she suffocated him with and tighten her grasp further, "now you can die! There's so much mana left in me, but I fancy wasting it on scum other than you! You weren't fighting to your fullest, now you can pay for that!"

"F-...fight this! M-Mimosa! I...know...you...can!" Asta wheezed out as he struggled, constantly trying to wriggle out as he seemed as a loss. Eventually though, he felt his wiggling make progress as he felt the two tumble together once more, but this time, it was controlled just how Mimosa desired. She forced them both towards the gaping canal, finding just enough force to rock both her and the anti-magic boy in as they entered the stream of water. It wasn't as deep as it first appeared, only being the height of their calves, but still enough to submerge.

Like once before, Mimosa ended out on the better end of things, landing atop of Asta as she immediately put him under, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck for the last time as she grew a more crazed expression with each moment with the current battering her every now and then, "I've had enough of that horrid screeching tone of yours! Say your prayers, because this is the end!"

There was little for the boy to do, vines wrapped around his hands tightly to prevent him being able to grasp any weapon at all as they tied him deeper to the river bed, water filling his lungs as he was denied further air entering his body, "Dammit! I can't do anything! The water's resistance makes it impossible to break free! Besides that, I can't summon any weapon to my aid, and everything's going dark, dammit! What am I to do!? I'm gonna die right here! I'm void of any options!" It was then he began to feel something strange stirring in the current as he reverted his focus to staying conscious as much as possible, trying to ignore the pressure on his neck as he steadied his struggles.

Mimosa adored the look from above as she manically smiled in satisfaction, "Dying by your friend's two hands! What a pitiful way for a pitiful boy to go out! You're finished!" She applied further pressure, feeling eager to end it as soon as possible as her senses were distracted by her violent emotions, making her neglect the strange feeling of the current as she admired Asta seemingly giving up, "That's it! Surrender to your doom! You know the next time you wake up, you'll be rotting in the pits of hell with the devils!"

"This feeling..." Asta thought as he felt the changing even more, "I...won't die… My brain is still functioning...I'm still thinking! I'll live right now...and save her! This doesn't end her way!"

Suddenly, the feeling maximised, as the water around began to swirl, catching Mimosa's attention as she instinctively released Asta slightly. All of a sudden, a great column of water arose from beneath, blasting Mimosa into the air and away from Asta as she tumbled further down the stream. The vines promptly released Asta too, letting his hardly breathing body float to the surface as he made no movement himself, his eyes gently shut with hardly any tension in his body.

"ASTA!" A voice yelled as they leapt into the canal with no hesitation, letting out a small grunt as they landed in the rather shallow water. The column still stood tall and refused to fade. Upon the top of it, the water flooded down over the edges and fell upon them like rain, immediately drenching the saviour too as their hair fell flat from the now torrential rain they had caused. Though he wasn't fully conscious still, he still heard the voice, their tone running through his head as he immediately recognised it mentally, even if he lacked the strength at that moment to say it.

"It's me! Noelle!" She screamed to his face in desperation as she dropped to her knees in the water and placed her left hand beneath his head and drew him closer with her other, wrapping it around him as she felt some tears brimming in her eyes, "come on, wake up! I'm here you idiot! I saved you, so wake up now!"

With no response, she took it upon herself to see his condition, analysing his body, "His temperature is rather cold, so I suppose it's good if I have him close to warm him back up," she noticed then the spread of red on the left side of his body as she felt it around and discovered the fleshy wound, "tch! You idiot! He's all wounded up, he has a cut along his cheek too, but those are the only places I see blood, and they've mostly stop flooding blood. The water will be keeping them rather clean too so I guess he's off lucky." She moved onwards on her checks from there and held a hand over his stomach, "His breathing feels rather slow, but it's steady at the least, he should be just fine, I just need him up and working again!"

The body in her hands shifted slightly in movement as Asta's eyes opened slightly, getting a full view of his saviour as he saw they absolute joy that entered her expression, "No...elle?"

"Asta!" She beckoned in joy as she drew him in tightly for a hug, squeezing him as much as she could as he was too tired to even be bothered by it, "thank God you're awake! I thought for a second I was too late," she only let a single pair of tears roll down her eyes as she cut them off before he could notice.

"Heh," He chuckled slightly, "guess I owe you one now," he glanced upon her as he submit to the comfort and leant slightly into her more, "that dress looks nice by the way." He hadn't given much attention to her over the night as a whole given how separate they were throughout the night, so it was the first time he actually acknowledged it. She dawned fairly basic attire compared to other nobles though, wearing a simple black dress, patterned slightly in some grey threads that were weaved into it. Now though, it was completely drenched, with the collar seeming a bit more stretched and down while the long baggy sleeves hung low along with the base of the dress which stuck slightly more to her legs as if it was suctioned to the surface of them.

Noelle blushed slightly and ignored her instincts to attack him given his state, "H-hey! N-now's not the time for that!" Internally though, she let it blossom as she held him even more tightly to her, "D-did he just compliment me?! I-I mean it's a compliment from a peasant! Wh-what does that mean to...me?" She shook her head as she loosened her grasp on Asta slightly, still having him in her arms though, "More importantly, what's going on with Mimosa!? Why did she try to kill you!?"

The peasant knight glanced over towards Mimosa's slowly rising body that was a few dozen or so meters away from them, "It's...that darkness...it's the same thing that turned Zora on us. It's reacting much worse with her though, she's way more powerful than the normal Mimosa. I let my guard down one time too many, and..."

"Don't worry about that! The important thing is that you're still kicking a bit! You're in no real shape to fight though...you're hardly getting sentences out to me!" Noelle grit her teeth in anxiety, "if it's darkness again, we just need to use that sword of yours. You can hardly swing it though, and we have to find a way to beat her regardless!"

"I'll be fine..." Asta huffed, "I just need time… My body's tired that's all. Forget about me though, I trust you won't be as foolish as me against her, I believe you can do it, especially if you use the water we have here to your advantage."

"Don't talk like that Stupidsta! Your safety is first before that darkness, besides...her mana is insane, it's more than just double what it normally is it feels, and she had a decent portion as it was! I don't stand a chance without you, so we need to get you recovered quickly! We need to work together!" Noelle insisted as she anxiously looked to the threat nearby.

The Vermillion hasd risen at last as she slowly began her approach, an even more crazed expression overcoming her, "Oh? A little royal to the rescue of a peasant? Not every day that happens. This will be fun though, I have double the people to kill now! I'll make sure to make both of your deaths as painful as possible!"

Asta clenched his fists as he could hardly move a bone, "Dammit, my body hates me at the minute! It's hardly got any strength left in it! I just need some more time for my blood to start kicking some more, but we've got no time at all!"

"Nobody shall be dying," A voice coldly said as another knight dropped into the canal, creating a great splash which coated everyone once more as their attention seemed fixed upon Mimosa, "Noelle, it seems you were on time."

"Nozel!" Noelle cheered in joy once more as she felt her brother's mana instantly spike, seeming instantly prepared to fight, "I did! You're on time too!"

The Silva captain let out a sigh of relief as he glanced back slightly at the wounded boy in her hands, "What's his condition?"

Noelle immediately reported, "He's fine! He has a few wounds and his body is a bit exhausted so he can't fight for a short while. He only needs a few minutes then he'll be ok!"

"You don't need to worry about fighting," Nozel assured, "leave this all to me and you take care of Asta. He's fortunate your instincts were right in rushing so ahead of me, I suppose this is an excuse as ever to escape the banquet too though. Just ensure to shield yourself if necessary. If she somehow breaks through your defence, I'll defend you with my magic too."

"Don't worry about me, brother! Please trust me and focus on your battle, I'll defend him no matter what!" Noelle promised as she adjusted his body, resting his head on her chest as she wrapped her arms around him, "as for you, rest up and regain as much energy as you can. You won't be able to fight on an empty tank."

Asta huffed slightly as he loosened all tensions in his body, letting himself flop upon Noelle as he was practically a rag-doll, "Fine, it's quite comfy here anyway so I can make do. All I need is a little bit of energy to get my sword to her. Keep your guard up though, I don't want you hurt too."

"The rascal who's been getting injured multiple times a day is more worried about the royal?" She lightly chuckled as she gave her attention to her brother, feeling Asta fully nestled, "you can trust me, so just relax, I've got this!"

Feeling content, Nozel began forth towards Mimosa as his grimoire fell upon his open palm, "Now then, cousin, it's strange to see you in such a way. I suppose I'll put you back to your senses before you cause any more mischief." "I heard little about the situation that happened between Asta, Noelle and Zora the other day, but from what I was informed, this certainly seems like the darkness that was spoke of. There's only the explanation that it's the work of some evil force, but what good are they getting from this?" Nozel reflected.

"I finally get to face a captain eh? My power will be better used here than against that fodder behind you," Mimosa eagerly stomped one foot forth, "time to put these spells to use!"

"They are far from fodder," Nozel sternly said as he swiped his right arm out to the side, "you seemed to have only overcome Asta by tricks rather than by actual attacks. I have full confidence he's stronger than you truly. The fact you never even sensed Noelle's spell tells me your mana sensing is completely off, you mustn't have full control over her body, which is why you never saw this coming."

In bewilderment, Mimosa tensed up as she glanced behind her. As she did, a spear launched straight past her face, cutting through her cheek cleanly as the mercury soon disappeared after that. A long steam of red flooded down her left cheek, the opposite to Asta's as she turned an enraged look back to Nozel, "Tch! That's the last hit you're ever going to land."

Nozel calmly flicked through the pages of his grimoire as he clenched his fist, "As far as I'm aware, this darkness isn't something I can so simply hit out of her, only one of Asta's swords can dispel this, just like with the reincarnation magic. I need him to recover quickly so I can set him up to land an attack, but his condition seems rather poor in order to fight. Ironically, this is a time where Mimosa's healing would be rather useful. For now, I can focus on trying to pin her down to the point where she's extremely vulnerable, or I need to incapacitate her. With Asta out for now, I suppose I'd be best off attempting the latter."

"He's already wounded her! I suppose since Asta doesn't even have mana, he couldn't test her detection or exploit it," Noelle awed as she supported Asta's head some more as she looked down on him, "sheesh, Yami's gonna kill you for this you know? You step outdoors for a few hours and nearly end up dead!"

"He can kill me later," Asta muffled through his resting place as he faintly grew the strength to raise his arms as he wrapped them around Noelle gently to further his own comfort, making her blush slightly, "as long as I can live through this, I'll be satisfied."

"Well you are living, because I'm not letting saving you be in vein!" Noelle exclaimed as her own words rang through her mind, 'No matter what, I'll save Asta!'. She tensioned slightly upon her reflection, "I said I would and this is the first step to do it! I've saved him once but this is no where near enough. He said he'd die to the Diamond Kingdom, so until that battle, I'll keep protecting him, and from thereon too! If only I was an arcane stage too...you wouldn't have to be so ahead of me..."

Nozel's vision narrowed as a wall of mercury pellets appeared to his left and right, easily covering the width of the canal as he held his hand forth, "Asta, you're still conscious, right?" He caught his attention as both young knights looked towards him, the smaller of the two still with their head pressured against the other's chest as their left eye was closed tight. Knowing he caught attention, he immediately reinforced himself using his magic, being surrounded in a light aura as he offered no looks to them, "Watch. This is what you'll have to surpass if your dream is still unaltered."

The young boy felt some energy kick back in as he tried to lean closer in his eagerness, only to be held back in the same position still by Noelle, "This ki...he's condensing such intense mana so casually… Even with Mimosa being so powerful now, he's so much greater without even trying too much… I can't help but feel he's been gotten so much stronger since we killed that Devil, and even then, he was enough to breeze through an opponent like Patry. Where the hell lies the roof of his power now?"

"Feathering Mercury Storm," Nozel grunted as he clenched his right fist, all the pellets lined up alongside him forming into the shapes of feathers as they blasted out towards Mimosa at a constant rate, "I've had enough of the chat. Let's see how well you stick together.

Frustrated already, Mimosa held her two hands in front of her together, a dense layer of flowers, leaves and all other types of greenery forming before her and being enforced by vines as they took all the damage, "Drat, each attack on it's own is fine, it feels to hardly scathe my defence, but with the volume, it's quickly withering it away. He has a greater pool of mana compared to me, but even so, this is ridiculous!"

"Your reactions seem quite slow too. This darkness must be having some issue fully taking hold of you," Nozel observed as he suddenly appeared behind her, his hand still outstretched forth, "I'm quite slow much of the time compared to many other mages, even my reinforcement magic can fail to keep me up to their pace. Despite that though, my versatility in my attacks and my battlefield knowledge often more than make up for that. It was an issue Mimosa seemed keen to overwrite herself over the last few months and considering she's more often acting as support, she never had much of a chance to shine beyond healing others. Her offensive abilities I could count in less than a full hand, she was a contrast of Noelle often."

"Tch, like hell I need your lecturing!" Mimosa bit her tongue as she held a hand forth towards Nozel too, a great plant forming behind him as it blasted out a dense beam of mana towards Nozel's blind spot, "you should stop being so overconfident, otherwise you'll find yourself in the ground in a while! You don't even have a way to stop this wonderful darkness!"

"I have reason to be overconfident. I wouldn't be acting this way unless I knew I'd already won. You're too many steps behind. On top of that, you're so far behind on utilising the full potential of that vessel of yours. Mimosa worked hard to try and overcome her weakness, to become more than just support. She was a lot more versatile than you're proving yourself to be now, she was enough to be on the front lines I believe, but you seem unable to reach that potential, it must take longer to fully integrate yourself to a point of using her fullest strength, or you simply will never be able to attain it. Your attacks are just rawly boosted in strength, but they are still inferior to mine, making my versatility over you my absolute superiority. You've lost before this has begun," Nozel further explained as a mercury shield formed behind him, effortlessly blocking the attack as he glided his fist to the side.

Noelle was dumbfounded without a word to muster, she saw the same expression in Asta, "He's toying with her! Her attacks, even while exerting so much mana, are useless! It's as he says, Mimosa's never been an offensive type, she not as much suited to such head-on-battles as I am now. The only reason she triumphed Asta was because of his usual carelessness I'd assume."

Asta still laid there, rather motionless given his state but he felt a lot more like himself again with the time to recover, "Dammit, I should be finishing this up myself! I need to make up for my carelessness but I need a little more time! Hell, he'll probably finish her by the time I get back up, I need a few minutes before I can gamble any action!"

"I haven't lost until I'm down!" Mimosa raged on as she erected vines from the ground that aimed for Nozel's vitals, "I'll undo you little by little, no matter what!"

Calmly, Nozel created another two shields which blocked the rising vines as the attack from his previously swiped hand took motion, a claymore-like weapon smashing into the side of Mimosa and blasting her into the wall as blood instantly ran over her lips as the mercury reformed back into it's completely liquid state and blended into the shields her had to fill any attained cracks, "At the least, it won't be long until you are down for the count. It would be much easier for you to surrender now rather than to suffer. Just because Mimosa is my cousin, doesn't mean I'll hold much back."

The mercury had left a deep cut in Mimosa's right arm, the bloody steam coating it all rapidly as it seemed to lose most of it's motion instantly. She let out not much more than a squeal though as she immediately began to heal it with her other arm while stomping her right forth, launching a few dozen vines all at once which spread to attack from countless angles. This time too, each vine seemed to have spikes embedded throughout them through their entire length.

A mercury guard appeared around Nozel which easily managed to block all attacks. His vision was obscured by creating the guard though, something which served as hardly even an issue as he formed a mercury spear behind Mimosa which blast straight for any area visible to attack. This time however, Mimosa's detection picked up the attack and she immediately evaded as vines launched from below and wrapped around it, spinning around as she sent it back towards Nozel at an even increased speed.

"I'm able to clearly manipulate my magic to a much higher standard compared to you as of now," Nozel explained as the mercury spear liquidated again and added to his shield which soon after shone slightly and emitted a wave of energy all around as it disappeared and cleared any danger in his immediate area, "simply sending attacks back at me will do you no good."

"Well you said you're quite slow, let's see how you like an increase in tempo!" Mimosa grinned as the aura around her only became more intense, the wound on her arm became wrapped in layers of greenery as the mage took a step forth.

"My legs!" Asta thought as he felt more movement returning to them as his blood flowed faster, "Like I thought, most of my body has been out just trying to normalise my blood flow! Everything should be coming back to me now!" He glanced up to the water knight who had cradled him to now, "Noelle, I got a plan!"

Nozel swiped his right arm to his side as a wall of mercury appeared behind both him and Mimosa, covering every nook and cranny as well as her formed a roof above them, blocking out all sight of the beautiful night sky, "It is I who controls this battle. I'm sticking to my own pace."

The Vermillion grit her teeth fiercely, "He's manipulating the area so easily! I can already tell I have no chance in seriously beating him, I'll have to resort to my strongest attack!" She more confidently raised her head to him as she began charging a great, condensed mass of mana and giant plant rose behind her, it's details so gruelling as it's vines dug deep into the surface, "Trapping us together here was your biggest mistake, you've got nowhere left to run, this attack will easily cover this area! To add to that, I've imbued your mercury with my own magic so you can't just manipulate your way out of this!"

"Is that so?" Nozel rhetorically asked as he glanced around, seeing the vines begin to grow and embed themselves into his mercury as they were tainted by it to a more silver colour. He had less control of it, it seemed compared to moments before, but he seemed to have a mild connection still, "That's no bother to me. I told you already did I not? Your attacks are weaker than mine. You will always be overpowered."

"This is my all! I don't care if your all is greater than my own! No matter what, there's no holding back even this! Your own arrogance will be your undoing!" Mimosa raged as the energy condensed further, appearing in the very centre of the plant as it began to shine a golden ray, blossoming the rest of the plant immediately as the attack looked moments away from blasting, the plant looking on the brink of self-destructing from containing the energy even.

"My arrogance is it?" Nozel smirked as he didn't charge anything, he dwindled there as he awaited the attack, "I think it's you who's been the most arrogant, and that will most certainly be your undoing."

Mimosa shook away his words as she jolted her left arm forth, the other still lacking a large portion of strength to act, "Shut your trap! This is the end of this, so say your prayers! ORBITAL BLAST!" An awing golden ray blasted from the plant, travelling at a rapid rate over towards the smug, unflinching Nozel as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. It dug through everything in it's path, blitzing the floor to pieces upon collision effortlessly as it withheld a tremendous amount of mana that practically oozed off of it as it travelled.

"Believe me, this is nobodies end. But, this is the end of this darkness. May you be blotted out," Nozel reopened his eyes as the beam closed in on him, "through the entire time we have fought, your neglected the existence of your other opponent. I wasn't lying when I said he wasn't fodder."

All of a sudden, Asta burst through the barrier with his Slayer sword firmly pointed towards the beam. At the tips of his feet there seemed to be traces of water, unlike the water of the canal as it dripped away from him in his movement. Through the gap that Asta created, Noelle could be seen on the other side, her wand pointed confidently forth as she leapt through herself to stand back alongside her brother. Asta pulled back his weapon as the sharper edge pointed towards the beam, catching Mimosa off of her guard from the appearance.

"Your attacks were never too much for him, they never will be for the anti-magic. The only reason you were on the better end was for your tricks, but, that can only take you so far against an even greater trickster," Nozel began as he glanced a slight look to the cheery Noelle alongside him, "if I say so myself, there isn't a much greater trick than the ability to nullify magic itself. You were through the moment you left him from your mind."

"MIMOSA!" Asta yelled as his blade connected, cutting through her attack as easy as butter as he outstretched his alternate hand. From the other end of the arena from where he began, his Dweller sword blasted too through the barrier, passing directly past Mimosa and scathing her right cheek as it drew a stream of blood once more, leaving a cut on both cheeks as she was bewildered even further and left frozen in shock and mildly in fear as she felt herself slightly tremble.

"Impossible...my strongest attack is nothing to him! How can it be? He could do nothing before and yet this attack is nothing!? Maybe that eagle bastard was right, dammit!" Mimosa trembled.

The beam was quickly cut off as Asta dragged his blade through, blasting a wave of anti-magic energy to slice the source of the attack as the flower withered away alongside the threat. All that was left was the two mages who were no more than a few meters apart within moments as Asta readied himself, his Dweller sword by his side and prepared to jolt ahead as he left his Slayer further behind.

"BREAK FREE!" Asta finished as he landed immediately in front of the shell-shocked Mimosa. He jammed his slayer sword into the ground as he wrapped his then free arm around her as he held her tight, his Destroyer also wrapped around to the back of Mimosa as the tip was angled against her back before the power was activated.

Instantly, the darkness oozed away as Mimosa let out a blood-curdling scream, finding herself unable to release any of her magic as it felt neglected to release any more to prevent Asta's actions, "My magic...I can't...do a thing...dammit!"

Asta closed his eyes and tried to block out the screams as he felt his power in use, the oppressive darkness fading away once more as Mimosa's body only became weaker and weaker. "I'm sorry," He murmured as her screams finally faded away, her body gently giving into him as he dropped his weapon from his hand for a gentle embrace, "I need to be better than this still..."

"As I suspected, it wasn't much of an issue for him in the end," Nozel sighed as he shook his head slightly, the magic all around them slowly vanishing back into nothingness, "with this resolved, I think it would be best to return them and you to the Bulls' base. Everyone most likely is exhausted, so it'd be best to cut things here."

"We can handle it," Noelle affirmed, "Asta seems fine and we can carry her between us easily enough."

Gently, Asta laid Mimosa down, letting out a sigh of relief as his weapons returned back to their grimoire. He didn't say a word more as he stared up to the stars, only offering a thought or two to appease his craving mind, "What is this darkness? I don't get it. Someone is somehow getting this to us, but for what reason? Why are they doing this? I suppose they're answers I'll have to dice through some Spades for. I'll figure out why they've made my friends suffer...and make them pay...no matter what."

Noelle rushed from behind, forcefully turning Asta around to face her as joy filled her face without her fully realising her nature, "You did it, Asta!"

"O-oh...I suppose I did. I would have been done for if it wasn't for you, you know though, or Nozel, so I really owe it to you I guess," Asta blushed slightly as he lazily scratched the back of his head.

"Nah, you would have found some way out of it, you always do, right?" Noelle chuckled as she hugged him herself, nestling his head onto her shoulder as she felt a huge grin overcome her, "besides, you're not dying, right, so how would that have killed you?"

"I don't know. We won though so I guess in the end, that's all that matters now," Asta sighed as he relaxed.

Noelle hugged him even tighter upon feeling his tenseness drop, "Well, how does returning back home sound now then eh, Asta?" She waited a brief moment as she received no response, "Asta?" She pulled back slightly to see his sleeping face upon her, "WHAT!? NOW YOU'RE FALLING ASLEEP ON ME?!"

The young Silva blushed up immensely as her thoughts caught back up with her from her initial outburst, "D-damn it, I suppose he's been overworking a lot, I should have expected something like this. A-as royalty, I'll h-humbly be a kind person and carry him back! N-not for any other reason at all!"

"Are you sure you wouldn't like any help with that?" Nozel cheekily asked as he noticed the now collapsed Asta.

"Two people is nothing! I'll take them back just fine!" Noelle boasted as she glanced upon Asta's tired face, "damn you, how dare you pick to collapse on me now!"

"Oh? I thought I heard a ruckus, of course that little twerp got himself knocked out again," Yami grunted as he appeared from above, looking down over the chaos that had taken place as he leapt down along with Charlotte who was just behind but rather quiet, "I leave him for a little while and this happens eh?"

Noelle glanced behind herself as she managed to scoop Asta up, supporting him with an arm beneath his knees and one beneath his back, "C-Captain! I didn't expect to see you! Asta's ok, he was attacked by Mimosa suddenly but me and Nozel got here in time to intervene and resolve things. It was the same darkness imbued in her as when he fought Zora."

Charlotte raised an eye, "Nozel getting his hands dirty for a boy like Asta? That's rather rare to see I believe," she glanced to see how battered Mimosa seemed, "you don't hold much back against anyone, do you?"

"I didn't have to try much. I still did was was necessary to avoid the boy being made for breakfast. Mimosa's a fine mage, she'll recover without knowing a thing happened to her," Nozel reasoned as he glanced towards the unconscious boy.

"Man, Vanessa will have to stop being lazy for once and help out, it's not like she can get drunk for a while thanks to Finral anyway," Yami groaned as he glanced over the body in Noelle's arm, "hm, he seems ok, there's only a few wounds to him, none of them serious. What tucked him out this much though?"

Noelle sweat nervously, "He nearly was drowned that's all. He's been overworking for a while so most of it's down to that I suppose."

The great Bull took a puff for the umpteenth time, "Is that so? The kid's grounded for sure this time though, can't trust him anywhere where he won't go and try and fight a guy to his last breath," he focused more his attention on the Silva as he pat her on the head, "well done on saving him though, I would have killed him if he died here of all places. You take him back though, I'll take care of the Vermillion, I'm sure her mental state is gonna be a handful after this, nearly killing your friend isn't something you shrug off you know."

Mimosa was swung over Yami's shoulder as the other two captains watched on, "You're in a rush then. You can bring them back to the Blue Roses' for now if you wish, we can treat them there for now considering your primary healer is out," Charlotte offered.

"We'll be good," Yami assured, "this will give Vanessa a nice activity since she doesn't normally do a lot back at the base other than drink. She doesn't ever normally show it, but she is decently skilled at healing, she takesa bit after her mother I'd say, though one was a bit more psychotic than the other."

"You never have the breaks on with your squads. Well, take care of them for me, I don't want my rivals dropping like flies," Nozel coldly said as he met visions with Yami.

"Sure, sure, whatever Mr Weird Hair. We'll best be off now, so let Julius know about what happened, there's something really wrong about this all."

As the adults wrapped up their conversation, Noelle watched from the sidelines, but with her vision more focused down as she glossed over her anti-magic nuisance of a friend, "Asta...what's the piece of the puzzle I'm missing in all of this?"

Another moon had passed over and another sun had risen as the slumbering bull began to wake, his body gaining back full control of itself as his mind awoke. He felt a blinding light shining upon him as he leaned his head up from his resting place while blocking out the light which had obscured him at the same time. Before even using his vision though, he felt around where his wounds were immediately, all of them being completely sealed and faded as if nothing ever had happened to him, "Ah, good as new."

When he looked down the bed, he saw Noelle, sat on a chair next to the bed with her face against the sheets which were covering him as it was positioned around his stomach. She seemed rather peaceful, and was still dressed in her clothes of the previous night as she seemed mostly unchanged.

"Noelle..." Asta whispered to himself as he relaxed back down to put his head against the pillow, "it feels good to not be in tatters. Hopefully that's the last time I have to deal with that stuff before the war. I'm sick of having to hurt allies...especially someone who's normally so innocent like Mimosa."

"The sleepyhead is awake once more," Vanessa cut through his thoughts as she let herself be known, strolling towards the boy as she inadvertently disturbed the sleeping Noelle who began to shift slightly more, "you passed out again last night. Yami subjected me to healing those wounds of yours but none of them were bad at all so you got off lucky this time, all of them were an easy fix and cover-up so you should already be back to yourself."

"Oh… Well, thanks Vanessa," Asta sighed as he glanced up slightly to her as she appeared right alongside him, "more importantly, how's Mimosa?"

Vanessa pat the boy on the head, "She's fine. She ended up on the worse end of things so she took a bit more effort to fix, but nothing was too terrible to amend. Besides, she's not what's important at the minute, you are, idiot. The point is that you didn't look after yourself again and still ended up injured, regardless of the severity."

The thunderous voice of the Captain broke into the conversation too as it fully awoke Noelle this time as she glanced around in slight confusion, "She's right. I let your dumb butt out for a few hours, and even then, you ended up injured again. Your ass is stuck here at least until the battles in a few days, and I mean it this time."

"B-but-!" Asta tried to protest.

"No buts this time," Yami groaned, "I'm not willing to take more chances, so you'll have to make do with training indoors. Get settled."

"That's right, if I catch you outside, I'll have to bind you up!" Vanessa teased as she pulled his cheek, "if you keep this up a few more times, Yami might even let me leash you, so you better act as a good, little boy!"

Faintly, Asta blushed as he felt his attention drawn to bellow as he felt Noelle's sudden movements as she clawed her way up him and wrapped her arms tightly around him, disconnecting Vanessa from him at the same time, "Asta! You're awake again! I was...um..." she blushed slightly as she pulled back in hesitation at how forward she was acting, "worried...about you. You seemed fine at the end of the fight but I was a bit anxious that something could have happened...especially in times like now..."

He leant up from his resting place which left him mere centimetres from connecting heads with Noelle which furthered her blushes as she froze up, "I looked fine because I am! With you at my side, I know I'll be fine. I trust you, Noelle!" He distanced slightly as he scratched his head in embarrassment, "I know I already said it, but I would have been toast without you. As long as we can fight together, I'm sure we'll all make it through this."

"R-right," Noelle softly smiled as she held her hands against her lap and withdrew eye-contact.

"Aw, look how cute they are together, Yami!" Vanessa awed as she nudged Yami and wrapped an arm around both youngsters as she tried to shove them together, "how beautiful young love is!"

Both Asta and Noelle shoved her away together as they sharply rolled their eyes and Noelle muttered, "Get real."

"All this soppy love or whatever is gonna make me vomit so cut it out before I behead all three of you. I had enough of that last night with Noelle persistently checking on Asta and all," Yami moaned as he drew his blade, "more importantly, Vanessa's still gonna be up and about so Asta's under your watch, Noelle."

"M-my watch?" Noelle stuttered in confusion, "what do you mean?"

Yami sheaved his blade as he turned away, "Just makes sure he doesn't kill himself or get up to any mischief or leave the base. I trust you'll be fine."

Noelle turned herself to the back of her Captain as she confidently nodded her head, "Yes Captain! You can trust me!"

The witch glanced a look to Yami as the two nodded at one another, "We should be fine if we're sitting tight, so don't worry about it too much, just stick together a bit more."

"S-sure," Asta nodded as he began to relax back slightly, "I guess we don't have a long wait before the battles regardless, I can survive a little while here."

A brief silence overcame the room as no further conversation spurred until a new voice entered the fray, "Um, excuse me..." All heads turned to Mimosa who stood trembling at the door to the room, "p-please would you allow me to talk to Asta...alone?"

Noelle remained quiet as she anxiously looked towards Asta, "This could get sticky. What if some of the darkness still hasn't left her? Can we trust her so soon? I'm just too uncertain..."

"Sure," Yami shrugged as he began away without a care in the world, signalling for Vanessa and Noelle as he didn't spare another thought to the matter, with the ladies begrudgingly following suit, "just don't take a year or whatever."

The Vermillion began towards Asta as the door shut behind her, leaving the two in silence as the boy flung his covers off of himself and flung his legs over the side of the bed to face the shy girl. Like himself, Mimosa seemed completely healed, and unlike Noelle, she was back into her Golden Dawn attire.

"Mimosa! You seemed to have recovered well too!" Asta cheered as he slid off of the bed to lean against it, "Vanessa's a better healer than I ever knew!"

Mimosa looked glum as she walked to being only a meter apart from Asta as she stared to the floor, "Yes, I healed quick, I already managed to give my thanks to her before and apologised for the inconvenience, but now I know I owe it to you as well..."

The tone Mimosa set shifted to Asta too as his joyous smile and enthusiasm died instantly, "Do you even have memory of what happened last night? Of Nozel and Noelle?"

"I do..." Mimosa said lowly, "I'm thankful I was stopped...but...that still doesn't change what I did while I wasn't...myself... I...did things I never imagined I'd ever do..."

"Well, it's no biggie. Nozel and Noelle were left without a scratch, and we all ended up alive so we can leave it behind us now," Asta assured.

"That's the thing, Asta...you weren't unscathed..." The tears finally began to set in motion as Mimosa's whole body began to tremble, seeming hardly able to control herself, "I attacked you...I wounded you...I nearly...killed you..." She raised her tear-ridden face to Asta as it bewildered him slightly, "Look what I did to you! Regardless of who's alive still, it never made the event any less real! I was weak! I surrendered myself to my darkness and look what it's done!"

Asta refrained from acting as Mimosa dropped to her knees, her hands in her face to try and slow the flow as her voice wavered more with every passing word, "How can I even consider myself a knight!? What ally let's themselves attack their own so easily!? I'm a failure, and nothing more! I broke my morals, and I broke my promise to protect you, by laying my own hands on you in such a way!"

"Mimosa..." Asta whispered but he was just ignored.

Each tear meandered through her hands as the floor supported her puddle of tears. Her body still trembled so greatly as she clenched her fists, "I'm not worthy of being alongside a knight such as you, Asta! This whole time, I've been nothing but a hindrance, only useful for healing every now and then...I'm pathetic! It shows to me that I've only made it so far because of my status. If I was born alongside a place like yours, I'd never had made it into the knights, never mind a prestigious squad such as Golden Dawn! If it wasn't for my status, I'd have never truly met you...everything I have is not born of my own efforts!"

Her break-down only continued as Asta's expression remained unchanged, her hands pressing against the tear-ridden floor as her voice soothed back down, "Maybe...from the very beginning...I was never worthy of you...I could never hope to have a future with the likes of you...because I'm not worthy of your company..."

"You've kept this all bottled up, haven't you…?" Asta rhetorically said as he walked past her, catching back her attention as she glanced behind herself to see Asta standing tall with his back facing her, "for even longer than I could have predicted, you fuelled yourself on your own doubts and fears, thinking that you weren't enough...didn't you…?" He turned himself to look down on her with a colder look, showing hardly any emotion, "you've always been the brightest in a room no matter who was there, was it all to mask your struggles?"

Mimosa held her right hand over her heart as she couldn't hold any eye-contact, "I never wanted this...I never wanted these feelings...I never wanted to hurt you...but it all came loose regardless...no matter what, I don't have control..."

"None of this is your fault. That's what you don't see," Asta began as he went down to his knees opposite of her, "you can't control darkness, you can't predict the future so what do you expect of yourself? It isn't your fault that you were manipulated, it was all in the hands of another can't you see?"

"But that doesn't change it all Asta! I'm still weak! When was the last time you ever saw me stand for myself in a fight and come out the victor? Against the elves, Mars, Langris...I never could do a thing to the likes of them… I'm useless alone! I'm not worthy of you, I'm a failure!"

"You're not a failure, dammit!" Asta grunted in frustration as he planted his hands on her shoulders firmly, finally digging a way to speak straight to her heart as the shock made her listen fully, "why can't you see how amazing you are!? You should know, better than all, that it's not just about the front line, raw battles! What makes a great knight is their heart, and their other battlefield qualities! You've got a heart purer than most, you're the kindest I know! On top of that, you're damn selfless, and are the best support mage we have in our lines! Without you, think of how many wouldn't be here, including me! You've done so much more than you realises, you're so much greater than you realise, just open those eyes a little more!"

Those words finally struck her heart as her eyes widened in shock, her body letting down slightly as her tears momentarily slowed, "Open...my eyes?"

Asta leaned forth as Mimosa leached for him, wrapping tightly around him, "I don't determine my allies by their worth on the battlefield...I determine them on the worth of their character and attitudes. Do you think I'd cut ties with you because you're not a front-runner? Your battle style never struck me to be in an ugly style like mine anyway. You're a lot more elegant than me after all, so I like hogging the front-lines. You're the perfect pillar to fall back on, you know...remember that."

"Asta!" Mimosa exclaimed as she cried into Asta, holding to him as tight as possible as she pushed into him more to burrow herself in his comfort, "p-please forgive my attitude, y-y-you're right!" She pulled back once more with a much more gleeful expression, the one Asta much preferred as he felt his grin returning too, "Together on the battlefield, we'll work together again, and we'll cut down any opponent!"

"Right!" Asta nodded as he felt her pierce back into him with a hug again, more shamelessly than normal too, "this is the Mimosa we much prefer, right? Remember though, if you ever get these pent-up feelings again, I'll always be here to listen for you."

Confidently, Mimosa nodded her head as she relaxed, refusing to leave Asta as she blushed at where she found herself and internally thought, "This is it...now the cap is off, I can let these feelings out! I...don't have to hold these back any more...I don't need to hold on to nothing... Maybe this is the first step to-"

Asta abruptly stood as Mimosa raised along with him, her arms staying firm, "Right then! Now this is all resolved, time to do some indoor training!"

"O-of course!" Mimosa nodded, following alongside him as they left swiftly, leaving the room in it's emptiness.

Another long few days had passed overall since the Royal Banquet. Before anybody truly realised, the exams had begun for the war allocations. Still though, for Asta it began as any normal day as he awoke, feeling a bit of deja vu as he felt a presence behind him. When he turned though, he was greeted with the sight of a wide-awake Nero, staring with a deadpan expression towards him.

Asta wailed briefly and rolled out the bed in shock as Nero looked over the side to look down on him, "NERO!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE!?"

"I was lonely, so I moved over here. I did so in my bird form but I must have subconsciously reverted back to my human form," she nonchalantly explained as she leapt off of the bed and stood there, towering over him as he picked himself up, "more importantly, it's the day of the exams, so stop messing around and get changed. From the noise I heard, most are already up regardless and are making their way to the battle-grounds."

"Eh? I don't normally wake up so late, dammit! I have no time to waste!" Asta exclaimed as he subsided the issue of Nero being with him, quickly changing himself before her in a mere instant as he scoffed down a few extra pieces of scraps that lied around the room, "why are you so cool about this? Haven't you got preparations too?"

Nero shook her head, "Yami told me that I don't have to fight. I'm mostly recovered it feels from whatever illness swept me, but I'm still not at my best. On top of that, I have no offensive capabilities so I'm sticking still to supporting you in combat. In other words, I get to stay alongside you for this war regardless. Yami is classifying us as a single unit."

Asta nodded his head as he began for the door of the room, Nero transforming and landing on his head, "Is that so? I guess it makes enough sense. You don't have to lift a finger for these battles today at the least, I'll blitz through the competition in style by myself and you can watch me win!"

"I never intended to lift a feather regardless," Nero coldly said as Asta turned to a plain, blank expression.

"Well, either way, this is my biggest chance to prove my superiority to Yuno! There's no question that I've had much more training compared to him with his new duties, that means I can finally show that I've surpassed him! I can show that even if his rank is greater, his strength isn't!" Asta boomed with overwhelming confidence.

"We'll see. Yuno was leaps ahead of you against the last threats we're faced though and he won't have become any weaker since. You most likely progressed more, but the question is how that compares to Yuno's progression," Nero stated as she glanced down from where she nestled, "we've seen none of his current strength, so don't get ahead of yourself."

Briskly, Asta made his way through the corridors, "I know, I know. He was so much more than I was back then, but that was back then. If I'm weaker, I don't care too much. We still have time. A week's well more than enough for me to keep growing stronger! The Heart Kingdom helped me so much to develop this strength, I can't wait to return soon and show them how much I've grown even further! We'll pay them back tenfold for their kindness by saving their Kingdom!"

Nero buried herself in her feathers as she closed her eyes, "That's the plan."

"Asta!" A voice beckoned down the corridor that connected to the front room. From a distance, Asta could immediately see their flaming bat in hand, recognising it as Magna as he stood alongside Luck and Finral.

"Catch up, slow poke! Everyone else has gone virtually!" Luck playfully said.

"Yami acted his usual self and pressured everyone ahead and left us few behind to wait for you and all," Finral explained, "we're the last five," he glanced up, spotting Nero on Asta's head.

Asta bowed repeatedly, nearly flinging Nero off of his head who pecked him straight again, "Sorry, everyone! I don't normally sleep so long, so I don't know what overcame me today of all days. If everyone's already gone, I guess we shouldn't dwindle too long!"

Luck put his hands on his hips, "It's easy for the one who was late to push us along! You don't need to apologise so simply for petty like that. Either way, let's go and beat up a bunch of other knights! My blood can hardly hold my excitement, especially since I can have the chance to fight you, Asta!"

"EH!? WHAT ABOUT ME!?" Magna screamed into the lightning knight's face.

"Sorry, you're weaker, I'm more excited to fight stronger people!" Luck cheered without a single shed of mercy.

"Tch! I'll show you strength and thwart you myself!" Magna boasted, "don't think you're so far ahead of me!"

Finral stood between the two as he focused towards Asta, "Well, everyone should be settling down so it shouldn't be an issue. We're fighting on neutral territory in the middle of the forest virtually. We've got a lot of space to work with for our battles I've been informed, so you better not be holding back! I wanna see you win this thing!"

Asta pumped his fist, "For sure! I'll win this thing! I can't wait to see you fight, Finral!"

Nervously, Finral scratched his head, "I'm still not that great in fights like this, so I hope I win, but don't hold be to it! You know I much prefer to be supporting you in a battle than to stand alone!"

"Well you won't be standing alone," Asta grinned, "I'll be there watching, so just do your best!"

"Of course!" Finral nodded, "now then," he opened a gate immediately behind himself, "let's go!"

"Asta! You better keep winning so we can fight! Last time I wasn't even conscious to do so, I won't miss out again!" Luck half threatened, half encouraged as he glanced to his ally, ignoring Magna's grumpiness still.

Asta nodded confidently as the group entered the gate. Within an instant, greenery suddenly surrounded the group as they entered a new environment. Nature's breath blew them slightly as they trod now along a grassy terrain, surrounded by around two dozen other mages, none turning their attention to the arrivals as they admired the tranquil beauty of the environment.

Each tree seemed to be thriving like every plant, their bark completely flawless and without a single chip to it as they were shadowed by the dense accumulated leaves which relished and hogged every inch of the sun's light that it could reach. The roots of each were quite prevalent on the surface, all of them seeming thick and healthy as they had speckles of dirt coating them. To further this all, the grass was a perfect shade of light green, encasing the entire floor in a beautiful, immaculate layer.

"You finally woke up eh?" Yami suddenly appeared behind Asta as he clamped his hand around the kid's head, "I was gonna kill ya if you didn't make it here by the time we got started."

"Captain! I'm sorry! I'll make up for it now!" Asta yelled to try and counter his inner balling of pain.

"Whatever, now that you're here, you just gotta perform, or Mereoleona and I will kill you. She has high hopes for you, as have I, so if you dare to disappoint us and lose, I'd start running for the nearest border," Yami threatened as he saw the mild dread fill Asta, "this is the first time I've let you outside properly for a while though so try and take it in and connect back with the environment. Mereoleona told me about the anti-mana zone you were developing, so when you get the chance, you better display it. We've still got time to perfect ourselves, including me."

Luck jumped in joy as he edged closer, "Captain! If I beat Asta, will you let me fight you!?"

Magna rolled his eyes, "Even at a time like this you're trying to start fights left right and centre, what a lunatic you are!"

"Sure. But you have to cleanly beat him. No tricks," Yami groaned as he let Asta back down who only filled with a further dread, "Good luck, Luck."

"I think I'll get out of here before any more fights are picked on me," Asta nervously laughed as he shuffled away from the group, turning and focusing towards another as his eyes filled with passion and excitement, "Yuno!"

He caught his brother's attention as he rushed towards him, noticing he was surrounded by Noelle, Mimosa and Klaus too. Yuno fully turned himself and spread a wide smile, "Asta! Good to see you actually made it. I thought for a brief moment that you got cold boots to face me and forfeit!"

The smaller brother stopped in front of the other as he stared up to his smug face, "Like hell I'd be scared of you! I'm pumped to finally have the chance to face you! I can finally show you the full extent of how far I've come over the past months!"

"Dumpster? So you actually made it?" Noelle lightly chuckled, "I thought you were going to sleep through this event!"

"Asta! It's so great to be able to see you again!" Klaus bowed with a constant smile.

"You're finally here!" Mimosa cheered as she resisted her common urges to practically glue herself to him, "I'm so excited we get to see everyone again!"

"Everyone!"Asta cheered, "it's been a short while since we could properly have a chat. Of course we're here to fight too, and to burst your bubbles, I'm going to win!"

Yuno shook his head, "Stop joking around, I won't let you trump me, shrimp."

Sylph quickly dove out too as she appeared straight into Asta's face, "Yeah! We've been working super hard! You won't lay a finger on us even! You better win against the rest, just so we can prove how much better we are than you!"

"Eh? Go away fairy, I'm talking to Yuno!" Asta whined as he waved his hand around to try and swat her away, "besides, you haven't seen a thing of my maximum power yet! You can't go and call the shots so soon!"

"I'm a Spirit!" Sylph yelled in Asta's face once more as the two continued to bicker at one another.

"Actions prove more than words," Noelle sighed as she swatted away Sylph herself, knocking her back to Yuno who then held her to stop her going at Asta again. The Silva then grasped Asta's cheek as she then tugged it, "Stop being dumb and focus! Things are getting serious now! We're fighting to prove our current strength and you're just bickering, so set that head of yours straight!"

"What is it with you girls and tugging my cheeks!?" Asta whined as he failed to retaliate as Mimosa watched on, "this isn't serious at all either!"

The Vermillion gently closed her fists, "The other girls do that to him? Is this some kind of technique I'm missing!? What if this leads him to fall for them!? Do I have to copy them!? I don't get it!"

Their conversations were once more disrupted by the thunderous tone of Yami, sounding much further away than what he was not so long ago as he looked down upon them from some heaps of rocks, "OI! LISTEN UP!" He caught all attention immediately as more figures appeared behind him, them being Fuegoleon, Mereoleona and William.

"There are twenty four knights her at the moment, discarding us Captains," Mereoleona took over, "for our examination of you, you will be all split up into three separate groups of eight!"

"Each group will have a small tournament-like series where all eight will face off in single head-to-head matches to determine the winner of the group!" Fuegoleon continued.

"The winners of the three groups will then go all against each other to find a winner. Your performance is what will determine your place on the battlefield, so do your absolute best. It isn't just about where you finish compared to others," William furthered.

Yami stomped his right foot against the ground, "You have to give it your all! We don't give much of a shit if you lose, but if you lose from a lack of trying, then you're dead meat! Got it!?"

"YES CAPTAIN!" Was the unanimous response as Yami puffed on his cigarette, keenly looking down towards Asta's general area.

Mereoleona stood alongside Yami now as she pulled out a list, "The groups and fixtures were arranged at random, so no complaining about what opponent you get. I'll run through things quickly...in group one, there is: Asta, Mimosa, Vanessa, Alecdora, Leo, Gordon, Finral and Rokken..."

Mimosa blushed slightly and glanced to her crush in anxiety, "I-I'm in the same group as Asta!? How do I stand a chance against him!? Would I even last long enough to find the chance to fight him!?"

"In group two," Mereoleona continued, "there is: Siren, Charmy, Gareth, Noelle, Hammon, Ben, Magna and Luck."

"Aw man! We're in the same group Magna! I'll have the chance to crush you after all!" Luck cheered in joy.

Magna turned to his ally, "Like hell! This time I'll beat you good!"

Noelle grit her teeth slightly, "I suppose it's a blessing not to be facing off against Asta or Yuno yet...they're both incredibly strong, but then again, so is Luck! I stand a chance in this group though...I just need to do my best!"

"And finally," Mereoleona continued for the last time, "in group three there is: Yuno, Klaus, Randall, Ruben, Gauche, Zora, Grey and Langris."

The last name gave a slight bit of shock around the area, but most managed to subside it from their minds as many began to glance around to look at their possible opponents.

"Hm, it appears I didn't get an as difficult group as Asta," Yuno clenched his right fist, "there's no reason for me to not make it to the end of my bracket, so the only thing that will limit myself from victory, is me."

"Me, Noelle and Yuno are all in separate groups," Asta thought, "I have an odd feeling it wasn't as random as they say. Regardless, that just means I need to fight my way to the end to have a chance at him. Having Leo in my group means this won't be so easy though, so I really have to give it my all today!"

Fuegoleon stepped forth once more with a separate piece of paper as he unravelled it before spreading it before him, "We don't have unlimited daylight, and this must be complete today, so we shall begin with group one fixtures! Everyone spread far out to the spectating area and when your names are called, come forth!"

An unease set in for many as they followed what they were commanded. Within a few moments, there was complete silence once more, as a gaping area was left in the centre of the area. It was a grand field of greenery, undisturbed by trees or hills, just a simple plain space of grass as it all gently wobbled in the breath of the air.

"The first match, is Asta vs Mimosa!"

Hiii! I got this out a lot quicker than I expected! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you're having a great day!

I'm pretty happy about this chapter so I hope you feel the same and I hope also that you look forward to the next because I don't believe it will take too long to do unless unexpected events occur.

I hope everyone is safe and happy as times are still quite troubled at the minute, and I wish the best for you all :D

NEXT CHAPTER: Asta vs Mimosa