Double digits ;p

"Maaan! Now I get to see Noelle fight!" Asta cheered as he shifted slightly to Mimosa's area, staying nearby to overlook the injured but still provided a line of sight on the next battle, "I know she's gotten a lot stronger, but I haven't gotten to see how much she has myself in battle."

"Keep your senses sharp, Asta," Finral advised as he followed along to Asta's side, coupled also with Vanessa, "all the people we're about to see you could come to face too, winners fight all, remember?"

"Finral!" Asta proclaimed as his attention was gained, "you fought so well! And that new spell of yours is so, so, so, so cool!"

Finral scratched his head and blushed slightly in embarrassment as he waved it all away, "Please, please! It was nothing I assure. The offensive power wasn't even of my own, I'm still as much of a leach now as I was before, just a little bit more resourceful."

Vanessa harshly pat the boy's back as she turned to him with a huge grin, "But still! The fact you managed to attack at all is mighty impressive. Now you just gotta use that ability to find a way to thwart the big hot head, and I've got to work around this little nuisance," she ended as she plopped a finger against the boy's head."

"Sadly, I ain't gonna let you win. You better show me all of that power though! I know there's more to this all still than what you've let onto us all!" Asta whined.

"The majority of those idiots haven't even noticed properly, dummy, they're all still just self-obsessed freaks," The witch sighed, moving her finger to poke his cheek, "you'll see in due time. We should be the first match of the next round, so keep those ears of yours perked for when it's time."

"And I...totally noticed too!" Finral proclaimed, not even able to spot it on the surface of things, "whatever it takes though, I'll make it through the next match too, and I'll see that power for myself as well, assuming Asta gives into it that is."

Nero swiftly flew in, currently transformed back into a bird as she landed on Asta's head, "I wouldn't count on it."

"Tch, talk about confidence," Vanessa groaned, "I suppose it can't be helped, but, I won't go down easy, that's for sure."

"More importantly," Asta interjected, "I think we got a fight to be watching."

Everyone's heads simultaneously turned back to the battlefield, seeing Noelle stood confidently against her opponent, Gareth.

"This is my chance..." Noelle breathed heavily, "here, I can set the mood, I can prove my strength. I know very little of Gareth beyond a few clear things, but I remember him having having iron magic at the entrance exams...though it was easily overcome by Langris I recall. I remember too though that he has a speciality in creation magic, that's just a common fact with elements such as iron."

Asta stared closely at his ally, noticing her general mannerisms, "She thinking deeply, is she trying to conjure a way to thwart him? No...she analysing him and trying to process it all through her thoughts. She's trying to stay multiple steps ahead, after all, iron is much more dense than water, so simple attacks couldn't break his defence. All that shouldn't really matter though...if she wanted to, she could probably end this in an instant..."

Observing too though was Mereoleona, firmly being perched above as before as she rolled her eyes, "I won't wait for her to finish conjuring her thoughts. Let's see what she can bring right now." Abruptly, before either combatant seemed fully paced, the lioness swiped her dominant hand down, "Match one, round one of group two, Noelle vs Gareth, begin!"

Reacting slightly faster, Gareth stomped his right foot forth, "I know the power of the Silva household, so I know this will be a tremendously tough battle, that's why I can't let myself begin on the back-foot!"

"He's immediately going on the offensive," Noelle observed, seeing several giant bullets of iron ploughing towards her, "they'd be a joke to me in my Valkyrie form, but, I'm here not to just prove myself to the Captains, but to..." The Silva glanced back slightly at her tiny ally, not catching a full view of the body but catching enough of a visual before turning back and raising her wand, "I hope you watch me, Asta."

"Sea Dragon's Lair!" Noelle firmly yelled as a dome of water surrounded her while the bullets drew closer. She maintained pointing her wand firmly forth as she made no further action.

It took no time at all for the first collision to arise, the giant iron bullet ploughing into Noelle's defences, only for it to combust, creating a slight explosion that didn't affect her defences at all. The rest quickly followed, creating an identical reaction.

"Even with a technical advantage, your magic can't pierce my defences, let that speak of the difference in our powers," The Silva coldly said, only strengthening her guard as she tightly grasped her wand.

"She's at an advantage in all aspects it seems, that's just her natural advantage from being born to such a prestigious family," Gareth sighed, "because of that though, it doesn't mean I'll give in without a fight. I'll just have to stay on the offensive!"

Imminently, a giant swarm of small iron bullets formed and blasted towards Noelle in constant waves as Gareth began to already sweat from how much he tried to exert, "I'll just have to keep giving it my all until you break! Bullet Hell!"

"I see..." Noelle closed her eyes as she still refused to adjust her position, secretly making small, articulate motions with her left hand though as she constantly emit a slight bit more mana, repairing the damages of her lair as it constantly weakened and strengthened again, "he believes that the moment he lets me attack, is the moment he loses. He's trying to suppress me and give his everything to crush me at once."

As the swarms constantly fired though, others watched with interest from the sidelines, "You think she's ever gonna lower that guard? She can't win just by sitting back like that, she'll end up cracking sooner or later."

"You're so stupid, it's funny!" Luck laughed directly into Magna's face as he constantly chuckled.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, LITTLE BASTARD!?" Magna screamed in his face, resisting his more aggressive urges as he shook his fist.

"Even you should see she's playing! You really think her mana store is so low that she'd be outlasted by that guy? She's just trying to show off!" Luck boasted.

"Come again?"

"She's wanting to impress! That's why she's let herself go on the defensive in the first place! And that means that right about now she should..."

The storm of bullets continued to rain on as violently as the actual rain itself, constantly endeavouring to pierce through Noelle's defences as she easily maintained her guard, letting out a huff of her boredom, "I'm weary of such redundant attacks. I think I've had enough of you for one fight. I was unfortunate to not get an as fun opponent as Asta, but it will let me reserve myself a bit more for the next battles."

Feeling uneasy, Gareth maintained his pressure, still trying his best to drill away at her defences as he let out grunts of his frustrations, "It's so tough! She's regenerating it faster than I can deconstruct it! I don't have a single spell that could so simply destroy it in one go either! My mana is already dripping thin, and she's hardly lifted a finger! At the least though, she can't bite back...all I need to do is endu-"

His unease was soon moulded into shock as he felt a sudden blast against his back, pushing him to the ground as his magic was cut, halting the attack as he felt the stinging pain only further against him like the feeling of a harsh slap.

"Wh-what!?" Gareth panicked as he tried to push himself from the ground, seeing water trickling down his back before looking ahead, seeing Noelle's defences lowered but her wand still firmly pointed forth as several spheres of water formed around her.

"Sorry, but, I don't have much time to waste. I'll be finishing this now."

"Whoa!" Asta awed, "she's so good! She's got complete control of the battle! She's being so badass!"

Mimosa could only look on with a long sigh as she moved Rokken aside upon finishing his healing, "If only I could be so strong too… I can't believe I'm so envious! But..." she looked thoughtfully at the palm of her hand as she exerted a slight bit of mana to give it a light glow before glancing over to Asta, "I suppose it's not exactly in my nature to be that way outright."

"Oops, this is looking like check to me. It's not like you would have expected otherwise though, right, Sisgoleon?" Yami teases as he spotted her irritation.

"Fancy dying now then?" Mereoleona thundered as her aura exploded.

"Take a day off the murder talk," Yami yawned, "ya just sound like the epitome of a psychopath."

"And you don't?"

Calmly, Noelle sent her barrage of attacks forth, her wand soon lowering as each sphere curled towards the target in a similar fashion to Finral's attack from the prior round, "You're too easily deceived. I sent out an attack a while ago while you were too focused on outputting so much. Apparently that alone was enough to obscure you from sensing my attack, and I managed to control it's path to sneak up on you, even while maintaining my defence. It was a spell so simple that I could do that, doing that with an attack like Sea Dragon's Roar would be nearly impossible at the moment."

Asta's grin continued to widen, "I get it now. His attacks couldn't erode her defences fast enough, which meant she could keep a linear connection to her barrier while also controlling the attack! I forget how fast of a thinker she can be in the moment!"

Gareth was still too stunned in the moment to process everything as he tried to recover, but his efforts weren't quite enough as the swarm of attacks homed in, "D-d-dammit! She too much! I don't have enough time!"

At last, the waves connected, all crashing upon the Silva's opponent like a rapid flurry of punches as the ground beneath was easily shattered, digging a small crater which acted as a grave for the helpless opponent.

"And that's that," Noelle huffed as she watched her attacks from afar before beginning forwards, "that was much easier than I anticipated. I didn't need anything fancy at all. I wonder if Asta liked that..."

Soon though, her thoughts were interrupted upon the sound of coughing. She stared ahead to see Gareth still conscious, on his knees in a terribly weary state. Instinctively, Noelle rearmed herself and grit her teeth as she charged up a blast, "Dammit, way to ruin my moment. I'll put you at peace for sure at this range."

"W-wait!" Gareth begged as the girl slowly cooled, the mana that was charging at the tip of her wand having lowered in intensity, "I...I surrender! I give up! I won't fight further! You have me...beat."

"Huh?" Noelle could only muster as she slowly lowered her wand in confusion, "you...aren't gonna fight me?"

"Well...I'm completely outclassed, and in this state, it would be suicide to fight further. You are well and truly powerful and have such a wonderful ability, I am outdone here. As I am, I cannot win," Gareth expanded.

Noelle was still hit with a slight bit of confusion as she cancelled out all charged magic completely, reflecting, "he's not bluffing. He has no sense of mana at all. I suppose..."

"Gareth has surrendered. Noelle progresses!" Mereoleona boomed to interrupt her independent thoughts once more. She seemed rather irritated, with her fist constantly clenched, but eventually it eased as she let out a long huff.

"Heh, I've still got a long ways to go. The likes of you are so much further ahead than I. Don't lose sight of the end," Gareth lightly chuckled to catch the girl's attention once more before it had completely severed, "I think you know too of what your against. Even from your squad alone." He promptly carried himself away towards the healing station unaided as Noelle watched on as a mute, letting the words pass through her as she couldn't formulate much to say.

"Wow! That was awesome Noelle! You're still cool as hell!" Asta praised as he ploughed forth towards her as he caught her off-guard, shooting her cheeks back into a blazing red upon his closeness, "hey, why are your cheeks glowing? Are you hot or something? That's a bit weird consid-"

"DISTANCE!" Noelle screamed as she slapped him straight back into the ground with all her might as he let out a wail of agony, "DON'T GET SO CLOSE SO CASUALLY! I STILL HAVE MY OWN...BOUNDARIES!"

"WELL YOU'RE VERY SELECTIVE WITH THEM!" Asta screamed back as he shot up from the ground with the mark of her hit being clear. It took him no time at all to cool back down though as he relaxed all his tensions, "With all that aside though...you really were cool, Noelle! I'm sure Nozel would be proud!"

The realisation of those words made her dial back her mind as she recalled when she was first even accepted by her brother well and truly. She turned her head away and puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms as the redness in her cheeks gently released into a lighter shade, murmuring to herself, "It's not him I want to impress so much..."

Their moments with one another were abruptly cut short however upon the sound of the trembling ground which had followed a harsh impact. They together glanced towards the source of the disruption as Mereoleona briskly trod through the clouds of smoke she formed to approach the two.

"Mereoleona? Is something up?" Asta questioned upon her approach.

"I didn't want to disrupt you before your fight, but I'd rather get this out the way now rather than later, Noelle," Mereoleona began as she saw the confusion arise in the girl as she turned and began away, indicating the follow, "we need to talk."

"T-t-talk?" Noelle nervously stuttered as she followed, recognising the lack of choice she had regardless as Asta was left to the dust, only being able to watch on as he grit his teeth slightly, "talk about what?"

She received no response, however she felt a bit of guilt arising as she glanced back to see her abandoned ally, looking sorrowfully at him for a moment before correcting her expression to withhold a smile as she nodded her head, quietly wording, "I'll be back soon."

Asta noticed and read her lips perfectly as he looked solemnly to the ground, "I can tell something's up, it doesn't take a genius to read a person like Mereoleona. I suppose I should keep my head mounted on my shoulders for now, I shouldn't go budging in where I have no business."

"Oi kid," Yami yelled from above to catch the boy's attention, watching his head turn in confusion, "come up here. While Water Girl is gone I think you're due a talk too."

"Eh? Have I-"

"Just get yer ass up here," Yami groaned as he distanced himself from the other captains, rendezvousing with the boy just under the shade of a few tress, the rain still running down the canopy till it collided with those below.

Timidly, Asta approached, seeing his captain leant up against the tree, watching his approach with his usual ragged look, "What do you want of me, Captain?"

Said captain flicked his cig aside as he forebodingly looked down upon the boy with an overwhelming presence, "Kid, do you think I'm blind? Answer before I chop you in half."

"U-um, no Captain," Asta instinctively answered in slight confusion.

"Good, because what I've been seeing is clear as day, anybody would know just batting an eye at you."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Yami edged closer, "I mean I saw your mannerisms when Leo fought. I've already made it evident to you that I have all eyes on you off the battlefield as much as they are on you on it. You were scared, weren't you? Or at the least, insanely intimidated."

Anxiously, Asta turned away, "W-well...with that level of power...it was impossible not to feel something. He's gone far beyond where even I imagined him being, even with only displaying those flames so briefly. I bet you could feel it too at the least, how similar their ki was to Mereoleona and Fuegoleon."

"Of course I did, I'm not a dumb-ass," Yami groaned as he tightly gripped the boy's head as he turned him back to face him, "it doesn't matter how intense those flames are now though, right? You'll negate them all the same."

"I...suppose...but-"

"No buts," Yami bluntly cut him off as he dropped the boy suddenly, intensifying his glare down upon him, "how can you expect to win in the first place if your resolve is that weak? Your worry shouldn't be how strong he is, but how you will overcome that. You'll get nowhere by cowering, it's not a characteristic that suits you."

Clenching his fists, Asta grit his teeth, "Dammit..."

Once more, Yami released a long puff, "I know I can't just snap your mindset back on track in a mere second, and I know I can't make you feel the way you really ought to, but the least I can do is point you the right way. It's up to you to walk that direction or now. However, by now, if you really wanna be who you say you wanna be, you need to start finding those indicators on your own, it's your path in the end."

The boy stayed silent.

Yami judgementally maintained his glare, "Gone mute, eh? Whatever, make me monologue to ya then, my voice is gonna be so hoarse by the time I even finish up with you for good. Seriously though, I think you know what you need to do next. In the end, if you're not working right, nobody else will either."

"Wh-...what do you mean?" Asta hesitantly questioned.

"You know already. Let me use an analogy your brain might be able to handle..." Yami began, briefly conjuring something up, "think of yourself like the main gear, or at least the one second to me. So many other gears are connected to you, but none of them will spin unless your gear is spinning too. Ultimately, if you're not turning, nobody else can either."

The boy thought long and hard in the moment as Yami passed by him, unable to muster up a single word to answer as the opportunity to speak shrunk and shrunk...until there was no opportunity at all.

"I need to get back to officiating these matches, so go and act all emo and mute alone for now. If you're really struggling though, just remember what Loropechika told you," Yami egged him on even further as his voice became quieter to his ear by each second, "and overall, just be brave."

"Be brave..." Asta slowly mumbled to himself as he felt no presence any more around his immediate vicinity, "that's right..."

Sharply, life kicked back into Asta as he clenched his fists tight, so tight that his nails pierced into the palm of his hand, bloodying his hand as streams of blood meandered down and painted his knuckles red before leaping to the floor and painting the grass too, "How could you let yourself become so pathetic again, Asta!? This isn't you...you know it isn't! Don't let this be who you become!"

Faint words danced across his mind too as he let out a deep sigh, practically envisioning Loropechika in his mind as her words echoed back in his mind, "Asta...what do you think makes a good leader?"

"I guess for now then...I'll be brave...not just for me, but for all...including you, Loropechika..."

A void of silence engulfed the area as the boy thought long and hard, letting his surroundings mentally drift away as he subconsciously eased the clench of his fist, feeling the blood flood down as gusts of wind caused a slight irritation with the open wounds, exerting a slight stinging sensation, the only feeling which kept him completely grounded to reality.

"Asta?" A voice disrupted as he turned in brief shock, neglecting his bloody palm as he flopped it to his side.

"M-Mimosa?" Asta stuttered in surprise as he let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't being looked down upon by the gaze of something much fiercer, "what's wrong? I thought you were at the healing post?"

Mimosa shuffled slightly closer in her usual timid nature, "I managed to rest Gareth and Rokken in cradles, their wounds were minute, so it was easier to lay them there so I could come talk to you."

"Talk to me about-"

"Asta! What did you do to your hand!?" Mimosa abruptly interrupted as she noticed his bloodied knuckles as well as the slowly expanding pool of blood, "did you do this to yourself!? Why!? Is something wrong that I missed!?"

Embarrassed, Asta tried to shuffle away slightly as he noticed his red fist once more, but Mimosa's sudden forward nature caught up to him as she gently grasped his bloody hand, printing some of the blood onto her own as she spread his palm wide open, "These markings...you did do this to yourself!" Mimosa pouted.

"I-i-i-it's nothing!" He nervously stuttered as he felt movement of his hand now restricted to her will, "I was just a bit...frustrated. Don't worry about it."

Mostly unconvinced however, Mimosa began healing the wound with her free hand as she curiously glanced up at the boy, "I...guess if you insist… Don't vent out your anger on yourself though...you're so fragile as is." She offered a rather joyous smile up instead though mere moments later, "Remember, I'll always be here to help you if you need...not just for physical wounds..."

"R-right..." Asta stuttered as he felt a slight guilt wash over him, but he quickly subsided it as he recaptured his focus, "well, what was it that you wanted me for? I know you wouldn't come to me with no reason."

"Ah, right," Mimosa huffed as she flicked back into focus herself from aimlessly watching the shrinking wounds, "I know you noticed too...but Yuno went somewhere in the mix of this all, and it's been quite a while now."

Catching on slightly, Asta jumped the gun, "So he's still not back yet? He is a lonely bastard a lot of the time."

By now, Mimosa had managed to completely rid Asta's minute wounds within the simple exchange, hesitantly releasing his palm and turning his hand back around as she loosely kept a grasp of it, "You know what I'm like by now, and I recognise this may be a very selfish request, but please could you go and search for Yuno? It's just that I worry something may have happened to him and-"

"Don't worry, I will," Asta assured as he gently grasped her hand and tightened their connection, which again made her bloom, "I can see more of the fights after, so just enjoy them for me instead!"

"I...I will..." Mimosa turned away as she maintained connection, not willing to look him directly in the eyes out of sheer embarrassment, "again, I'm sorry to cause a hassle, I know you were looking forward to this and all..."

"It's no problem," Asta grinned as he cut connection with her, patting her on the head as he strolled past, "I'd best not waste time, and I'm sure you'll end up with a few more patients at your feet soon, so I'll let you go back to it."

Mimosa slowly nodded as she only mustered a slight mumble and a word in reply, "Mhm...but..."

Catching ear of her last word, Asta turned his head slightly back around, maintaining his body's direction forth however, "But...? Is there something else?"

"Well...just make sure you take Nero with you...or at least someone..." Mimosa begrudgingly huffed, "I'd love to help you, but you know I'm chained here… With how...off...things have been lately, you'd best not be going alone..."

Faintly smiling, Asta stuck his thumb up and continued away as if it were nothing, "Will do! I promise I'll return as I leave! Take good care of everyone 'kay?"

"O...okay," Mimosa slowly sighed as her vision of Asta had faded in mere moments, allowing her to finally release the tension she withheld as she released a long breath, holding her hand to the centre of her chest as she faintly grasped her robe, "my chest...it feels tight...but not out of my usual passion… I feel...uneasy… Something isn't settling quite right with me...something's wrong...not just with Asta...but in general."

She stared forth anxiously, being unable to alter her expression from a frown, "Just what is really going on with everything today?"

"U-um...Mereoleona, what did you-"

"I want to tell you more about your mother," Mereoleona interrupted sharply, before stopping in her tracks, "and here will do."

The Lioness had led the Silva girl far out from the ring of battles, ending their walk in the middle of acres of trees which had no clear path back to where they came from.

"M-my mother?" Noelle lit up a bit more, "what do you mean?!"

Slowly, Mereoleona turned back to the pleas coming from the girl, "There's a period you were never told of...a period before your mother's death. I doubt you were told this by anyone else, and now I believe you're strong enough to know this. I myself only let it revisit my thoughts recently too."

"Huh? Before her death? I don't follow..."

"Then listen," Mereoleona snapped slightly to usher the Noelle back into silence.

Drawing a long breath, she gazed fiercely downwards, "Before your mother's death...before she was cursed...there was a period of a few months where she vanished altogether. They were months void of her existence practically, we had no idea at all what had happened to her. It was only months later from her initial disappearance that she emerged in the Forsaken Realm...cursed."

All of it hit Noelle at once, processing everything carefully as she was awestruck, "Disappearance...Forsaken Realm...curses...? But...where did she go missing? Surely someone would have seen her last before that time?!"

"Cool yourself," Mereoleona planted her hand on her head and made her still, recognising her growing anxiety and confusion, "but yes. We only know either side of the disappearance, nothing of the in-between. Before she up and vanished, she had been sent on a mission, it was to help quell growing tensions in the Spade Kingdom."

"Spade? Why did we involve ourselves with them?" Noelle curiously asked.

"Well...despite our rough relations with the Diamond Kingdom especially, we acted often as a peace-keeping country, primarily because we were the strongest. It wasn't really the first time we tried to stick our noses in with other countries, though...it was more often on a more minute and less...destructive scale."

"You're meaning to say...that this was worse than the rest?" Noelle lead on.

Mereoleona paused briefly as she turned away once more, looking to the ground with a solemn expression, "Completely, admittedly, it was an underestimation as well on our part in terms of it's severity. In summary, a rebellion was going on in the country, the royal family which held power were overhauled by what I believe was the Dark Triad. I don't think I need to egg you on further for you to know where this is heading."

"The Dark Triad..." Noelle whispered, "so...that's when my mother clashed and became cursed. And judging by the state of their kingdom...that means my mother..."

"She couldn't help them...nobody could. That's the level of threat we are against. But, I'm sure you still see the void in this all. Why did your mother disappear there? That's the question in your head, and the answer is nowhere to be found. You can only make up some fair assumptions as you probably already have done."

Gently, Noelle nodded, processing this all much better than Asta could ever dream of, "I could only guess that she struggled to get back with her injuries. The curse must have weakened her and made it more difficult to travel. She was...all alone..."

"It's only logical. Try crossing a grand Magic Zone in the state she must have been in...I'm sure not many would have survived, but she did. That's the type of fighter she was, defying all fate. I just wish I could have joined her on that battlefield, but, I was needed here. She didn't quite travel alone however, but the rest of her allies were slaughtered, when we had caught wind, she had already vanished. I knew she didn't die there, nobody had found her body, and I had that gut feeling...but nobody knew where she was."

"So she spent months getting back most likely," Noelle sight as she began to drown herself in sorrow, trying to put herself in the boots of her mother, "so many months...all alone...but she never gave in, just like..."

"Don't try and feel bad about it, this was all before your time. The battle itself took place not long after your own conception I believe. She must have fought her heart out to live for you too," Mereoleona sighed as she tried to keep her own cool, constantly having uneasy feelings swelling intermittently.

Noelle pinched herself tightly as she grit her teeth, "Mother fought so hard so that I could live...I have to repay the favour...I need to live for her..." Snapping back into things though, she stomped her right foot forth eagerly, "So...when she finally returned...she emerged in the Forsaken Realm? Like...in the areas like Hage?"

Mereoleona nodded, "The Forsaken Realm is the closest area to the Spade Kingdom. It borders the neutral territory. To add to that...the northernmost village which is closest to the Spade Kingdom, is Hage."

"Hage…!" Noelle's eyes widened in shock, "I didn't think about that! She would have gone to the closest region in the Clover Kingdom...meaning that she most likely passed through Hage! It's not a certainty...and she could have entered elsewhere, but there's a good chance that the people there would have known of her if she appeared there! Maybe...they know more of what actually happened..."

Momentarily, Asta came back to mind as she clenched her fists, "I guess there's even more questions to fling about on our visit. While she may have just passed through perhaps...it's worth asking if there's anything they know. Father is my best bet most likely, I'd love to go now and bombard as much information as I can about him, but I need to wrap up my business here too."

"Regardless, I know this may have been a rather inconvenient time to hit you with such information, but I know you're mentally strong enough, and this is something you were due to know about. Let this drive you to perform even greater in your next matches, your next opponent is sure to be a greater test," Mereoleona continued to loom over Noelle, "and on that note, I think we best return now. I'm sure you need no more of my input."

"Um...go ahead without me. I'll be close behind, I just need a moment," Noelle timidly said.

Mereoleona continued without a second thought though, briskly strolling away as she sternly said, "If you insist. Don't waste much time though, you have very little to spare."

Gently nodding, Noelle parted herself even further as she watched Mereoleona's leave as she faded out of sight in mere moments.

A long void of silence filled the area as Noelle stood there, alone, reflecting to herself as she stretched her dominant hand ahead of herself, staring aimlessly into the palm of her hand.

"Hage..." She sighed, "the place where Asta was abandoned. Perhaps it means more to me than I expected. It makes me wonder what my mother truly felt about places such as it...what she would have thought of Asta..."

She couldn't help but keep letting the boy cross her mind as she felt her own feelings stirring, as well as a stranger feeling in her chest of something more unusual, "She probably would have liked him...I bet she was far more compassionate than I ever used to be, or am… I'm not able to mirror mother yet...not just through my strength...but through my heart. No matter how far I try to push myself, Asta keeps managing to push himself thrice as much...if I want to surpass mother...I have to try my best to stay on his heels. I have to push even harder than this!"

"Besides that though...it makes me think. Mother's whole squad was slaughtered by this beast we're driving towards. I have to do my best now and diverge a new route...after all...I can't let anything happen to...him..." Noelle continued to ramble to herself as she slowed even further, allowing the growing feeling in her chest to become more apparent, but she still mentally managed to subside it, "I could lose it all soon...so I'll have to surpass all expectation to cling to it instead. No matter what, I'll get revenge for mother; I'll slay that devil; I'll keep Asta alive."

As her mumbling severed though, a sharp pain suddenly struck as Noelle dropped to her knees, wailing in pain as she crossed her arms around her stomach, immediately coughing up a pool of blood as the pain began to intensify, not giving her any room for relief.

"Wh-what!?" Noelle panicked as she coughed up another shot of her insides, "what's wrong with me!? Why am I hurting so much!?"

Coughing a few times more, she released her right arm from where it was locked and pushed against the ground, the blood easily spreading to where it was stationed as well as her dripping tears as they subconsciously set in motion themselves.

"I feel...so light-headed...what's happening to me!? Where did this all come from!?" She continued to struggle as she became rather droopy, her eyes struggling to stay open as the sharp pains persevered, causing her to wail further as her arm alone wobbled in uncertainty, feeling it's strength drain before suddenly giving way, causing her to fortunately flop onto her side, narrowly avoiding a land in the puddle of blood.

"D-d-d-dammit! Think!" Noelle grunted as she struggled to even lift her head off of the ground, "try and subside the pain and think of what to do...just as Asta would! You've felt a lot worse than this before!"

Thoughtfully though, she tried to slow her breathing at the least, concentrating on overcoming the pain as she felt blood drool across her cheek, "Then again...what would Asta do in a spot like this anyway!? He'd be yelling his head off and just trying to withstand! With his physique, he's probably felt like this so much more!"

"No!" Noelle sharply raged at herself as her eyes tightly closed, "don't waste the time you have to think. If I'm not careful, I'll pass out in a mere moment...it'd look like a murder at this rate!" She quickly punched her thigh with the little strength she had as her eyes shot wide open once more, beginning to feel her pain ease as the blood she coughed continued to shrink in volume, "keep thinking! My mind's feeling quite clouded, but I'm still processing things well enough. The pain feels much better than it did moments before, and I'm starting to regain some strength already in different parts of my body. I have a weird feeling though...something feels...off..."

Her head tilted every direction she possibly could as she once more managed to push herself back up slightly, "Why...do I feel something else around me? It's like another presence...but it's very faint. I can't help but feel like there's a great eye staring down upon me. I should make that secondary though...I need to get back to strength first. I need to stand!"

"Ignore the pain!" Noelle encouraged to herself as she struggled to withhold her cries of agony as she painfully tried pushing up herself up with both her hands. Even then, such a simple movement felt so tough, robbing her of her breath and demanding the limits of her physical strength. Through it all though, she kept pushing onwards, rising higher and higher.

"Breathe steady, you're running out of air."

Her breaths drew longer.

"Push harder, or you won't get up again."

She continued to rise steadily.

"Don't lose sight of your goal. Don't give in until you've done what you must."

Asta flashed across her mind as she continued. She couldn't feel her feet flat against the floor yet, it meant she wasn't done yet.

Within moments however, she suddenly achieved her aim, feeling a great relief throughout her body as her feet indeed pressed flat against the ground. Her stressed muscles began to relax again, but she stayed standing, breathing slowly but steadily as her strength just as progressively began to return.

"I...did it..." Noelle panted as she looked down upon herself. She was a complete mess. Her robe was tinted with blood, as well as the garments which covered the lengths of her arms. She further felt at least half a dozen streaks of blood imprinted on her too from slithering down her lips. When she swiped her arm across, very little disconnected, but what did left a dry imprint as well as a slight spread which was much like the imprint it left upon the back of her hand.

"I...need to get a move on, I can't dawdle...think as I move!" Noelle processed as she began to slowly stumble away, her perfect movement forward occasionally disrupted by a slight trip, "nobody will know what the hell just happened to me. Asta's probably the person who would have the biggest idea considering weird shit happens to him a lot, so I'll find him after. Other than him though...I can't let a soul know about this just yet, in fact, I shouldn't burden anyone with this yet. I'll only start telling when this is all over, or if the time's right to do so..."

As she moved, she slowly became faster and faster as her strength rekindled, the pains she felt all but faded without her even acknowledging, "I'll worry everyone if I turn up like this, so I'll clean up on the way. I don't quite know what I'll be against next because of this...but nothing will stop me regardless."

She grit her teeth as she let out one last sigh before speeding away, "Asta...don't you be rushing ahead of me…!"

"Hmmm," Dorothy mumbled to herself as she stared up to the sky, the sun blazing into her eyes yet she seemed completely unaffected, "that's strange. I wonder what those nutcases are up to..."

"Is something wrong?" Nozel questioned as he suddenly strolled alongside her, glancing slightly down at the fellow comrade as she flung her legs over the ledge they were perched upon, "you seemed awfully distracted."

"Oh!" The Captain suddenly pulled a wide smile as she projected her gleaming expression, "how thoughtful of you to check on me! It's nothing...just a feeling."

Nozel stared more curiously, "A feeling you say? What do you mean?"

Huffing, Dorothy nudged him slightly as she stared, "It doesn't matter, just forget it Mr Serious. Say though...I bet you're wondering about your youngest sis, aren't you?"

"That's a natural feeling."

"Oh I know. You have the softest of spots for her deep down. I think we both know she'll be passing with flying colours, the question will just be how high she can reach for now against the rest. I wish I could be there to watch, because if I remember correctly, you saved a boy from one of those squads, didn't you?"

Immediately returned Nozel's curious look, "Indeed I did, Asta was his name, there's something about him interesting you, isn't there? I doubt you would have mentioned him this randomly."

Smugly grinning, Dorothy rolled her eyes, "My, you know me quite well! Of course he's interested me, he's a cute little powerhouse that's stronger than he looks, like me!"

"Except he has no magic whereas you have bountiful amounts."

"True. It's unfortunate anybody in this world can be born in such a way, but..." Dorothy began as Nozel's gaze furthered and her words became rough, "I doubt it was without reason. Nobody in this world can simply be a defect in such a way."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if it was a one-in-a-million abnormality, there's no way he would be the only ever child to be born in such a way. Mother nature doesn't work like that, she doesn't pick or choose who has magic," Dorothy rolled her eyes further as their serious expressions met one another.

Nozel felt some unease, "So you're trying to say his lack of magic isn't a natural cause?"

Dorothy finally stood again, "If his lack of mana was such a simple mutation, then he wouldn't be alone, don't you think? Regardless, I want to pay him a visit at some point...or vice versa."

"Well, treat him well then. He's a young boy after all."

"Aww, come on!" Dorothy's cheery mood suddenly returned, "you know I'll behave myself! I looked after Noelle well, I can do the same for her little bud!"

"I know...you're more responsible than most, although you used to be asleep half the time anyway..." Nozel sighed as he turned away, beginning to think to himself, "She's expecting him to possibly go to her too then? She clearly knows something more than me, she doesn't have some basic attraction to him such as similarities. She's already looking into him a few layers deeper than I, such as his odd singularity in his lack of magic… I suppose I don't have time to hustle information out of her, I'll leave him in her hands."

Snapping out of his spiral of thoughts, he began away briskly, "Come now, we have to get back to work."

"Why of course!" Dorothy grinned as she strolled along too, albeit at a much slower pace, letting Nozel whiz ahead as she stared once more up to the sun, "Asta, hmm? The boy of Noelle's thoughts… I wonder why the stars could never quite align for you...why are you what you are?"

"You want me to fight, la?" Charmy questioned in confusion as she suddenly found herself plopped on the battlefield, facing a confused Siren as he looked down upon her, completely lost in what to truly do, "but I don't want to fight, I want to eat!"

Yami stared down, exasperated. He had taken charge while the duo of royals had stepped aside, and had already set the match between Charmy and Siren in motion, but one seemed willing to fight, the other not as keen.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Yami groaned as he felt like collapsing on the spot, "that little idiot is a total good-for-nothing. What would it even take her to fight?"

"This is...an unusual circumstance," William sighed, seeming just as confused and weary as most.

In truth, most others wouldn't know how to approach such an enigma as Charmy either, but it didn't stop Siren from acting altogether.

"Um, Charmy is it? We're hear to fight seriously. Please would you-"

"Would you like some food!?" Charmy eagerly asked as she hopped in her spot, drool flooding down her face, "you mustn't fight on an empty stomach! Yummies must always come before battle!"

"I...um..." Siren could only mumble as he was completely lost. Even his great calm and composure was mentally blocked from trying to further the situation in the presence of such a unique adversary, as he stared down at her, utterly lost as to what to do.

"So how long until they actually fight?" Vanessa groaned as her head was in her hands. She was sat on the floor alongside Finral as the two had distanced slightly from the mobs of people to rest up against a tree, though they still gave themselves a line of sight of the battle, "what's she gonna do other than try and eat him into surrendering?"

Finral's head was in his hands too as he aimlessly watched on, "Charmy's so incredibly powerful. It's a shame she can never naturally flood that strength into standard battle. She won't fight without benefit to her most of the time at least."

"Well it's a good thing she's on our side for whenever she does have that desire. Whenever she's serious, she's practically unstoppable," Vanessa lightly chuckled.

"Right," Finral mimicked her laugh as he reflected on his comrades, "there's only a handful of people in our squad alone with the power to halt her."

Being so fed up already, Yami edged closer as he fiercely glared down upon Charmy, "Oi! Get that ass of yours off the ground and fight before I diet you the next week!"

Utterly shocked was the only way to describe Charmy as she wrapped her arms around a bundle of food which she had concealed to herself, "Never, la! I'll keep making food no matter what! You can't stop me!"

"Fine then!" Yami growled furiously, "if you fight your heart out from here onwards, I'll let you have the buffet of food of your life. Food even more exotic and grander than what you can make now!"

A ray of light practically engulfed Charmy as she spiralled around, a sudden new nature dawning upon her as she was filled to the brim with joy, "The Gods have blessed me with such an opportunity, la! I can't let this go by!" She nodded confidently at Yami as a great beast of wool began to arise behind her, "Yes Captain! I'll fight to then end! Nobody will get in the way of my yummies!"

Fuegoleon could only crack a smile, "It seems you do have a quite a wild card, Yami. She's hardly done a thing, but I can already sense the tremendous mana lurking beneath."

"Well, I don't raise any weaklings now, do I?" Yami grinned in confidence as he reflected to himself, "but out of all my little ruts, I guess Charmy's gotta be one of the most bizarre of all! All that little dwarf needs is a bit of motivation!"

"I won't let anybody get in the way of my food!" Charmy raged, "you're in my way for noms, so you'll have to go down!"

"Wh-what is this power!?" Siren awed as he was at a complete loss, "I felt she had something underlying, but I never anticipated something so grand! I have to strike quickly!"

A stone axe quickly began to manifest as Siren dived forth, but he was put-off quickly by a further increase in his opponent's power. Even then, he tried to strive forwards.

Before he could reach his target however, Siren was suddenly repelled by cotton threads as they manifested out of nowhere, repelling him back again and reinstating their distance as Charmy's eyes were shadowed, "Prepare for the great might of Charmy! I shall crush all for my noms!"

"This is just getting bat-shit insane!" Magna screamed as his glasses were practically shattered, "she's prepared to kill at this rate!"

"Ha ha ha!" Luck chuckled, "so Noelle will have to face her in her full wrath! I can't wait to fight one of them!" "They fought in a row for the first two battles of this group, which means they'll be against each other, at least at this rate. That means I'll just have to keep winning till I get to fight one of them. I'll either be facing Hammon, Ben or Magna, and they're all manageable! No matter what, I can't face Noelle or Charmy till the final of this group, which means I'll have to just win till then!"

"Don't get too far ahead of yourselves, you've still got me to face asshole!" Magna screamed in his face, "don't get so ahead of yourself and think you'll blitz through me!"

"Hmm, well I guess you'll just have to prove that, whether that's against me or one of the others!" Luck grinned as he received one back.

Siren meanwhile recovered from his stumble, staring up towards the giant sheep which had formed, "How immense it is! I can feel it's tremendous mana that leaks under the surface. I need to get an attack straight in on her, but I won't make it in time, and I'm easily within attacking range!"

Still rambling, Charmy raised her arms as the giant sheep pulled back it's fist, "May you be crushed in fluffiness! Sleeping Sheep Strike!" The towered sheep's attack let loose, it's speed immediately closing the distance between it's opponent in a single moment.

"It's so fast!" Siren panicked as he raised his guard before it's connection. A giant sphere of stone surrounding him to block out every flicker of light, "I have no choice but to try and guard!"

"She's damn terrifying alright," Zora groaned as he watched the motion of her attack, yawning as he looked away in a lack of interest, "I guess looks do deceive eh? Then again, a certain shrimp already showed me that I guess."

Zora flexed his joints a bit as he drew a long breath, "With you people knocking one another down like flies, I'll have to fight way sooner than I wanted to. I was hoping on fitting another nap but I guess my fun's always spoiled in the end."

All of Siren's defences meant naught in the end, at least in the presence of such a threat as Charmy. Light suddenly broke into his pitch-black dome as the towering sheep's fist tore though as if it was nothing, easily following through and crashing against Siren, ending the fight before it had truly begun.

The Golden Dawn knight wailed briefly in agony, presumably before passing out, as his body tunnelled through the ground. The sheer force of the attack shattered all the surrounding area and forced a long gaping gap in the ground to form from Siren's path.

Really it was of no question to Yami what the result truly was as he pulled a toothy grin, eagerly striking his katana south, "Siren's down for the count. Charmy wins."

"My, my. What a cute little monster we have," Vanessa admired after pulling away her booze from her lips, "I wonder how Noelle plans on taking that down..."

"Eh!? Where did you get that booze from!?" Finral panicked as he leached forth for it, "Captain said you couldn't-!"

"Who gives a damn," Vanessa giggled as she shoved her hand in Finral's face to keep him away, "Asta's gone for now anyway so there's nothing to watch for. Nero's with him anyway, so I'm sure he's fine."

Finral endeavoured to reach though, and never made any progress as the witch relaxed back as she stared up to the sky, taking another swig of her drink, "I wonder what is going on in that little brain of his… He copes surprisingly well with all these troubles despite his age...I only hope those stirring feelings at the core of his heart are just as soothed..." She glanced at Finral as she grinned slightly watching his futile swings, "Either way, I'm sure there's others to help soothe those feelings for you..."

"Oi what are you two doing over here?" A voice crept into the atmosphere as Vanessa's head turned to the disruption, with Finral's being stuck in place, "wouldn't Yami rather have you watching the fights?"

"Eh? Oh, it's you, the sister-obsessed bastard," Vanessa huffed as she turned away, "I'll have you know I'm enjoying the fights quite nicely. I already did my spar anyway, I think it's you who should be keener."

Gauche forced his way back into view as he glared down upon her, "I don't give two shits. At this point, I might try just so I can maybe meet you in the finals and kick your ass to impress Marie. That's assuming you don't get kicked in early by the Shrimp."

Glaring up just as intensely, Vanessa finally loosened her grip on Finral as he gently pushed him a bit to the side, "There you go with your obsessions again. You should go see Mimosa, she can probably wind in that screw you've got loose. Besides that, you've got a big plate on your hands yourself," her expression suddenly sullied a bit, "like that just as crazy Langris. You'd be a perfect match."

"Now, now," Finral intervened as he crawled between them both, "I don't think we should bicker at a time like-"

"Just shut it," the two groaned in unison as the heads both centred on the boy in-between.

However, his words weren't completely futile as Vanessa leaned forth, resting her arm on Finral's head which intern spread it's palm flat to rest her head. Finral by now was being compressed into a ball of limbs but neither knight gave any attention to it, "Though, I guess arguing with you isn't exactly that entertaining. The virgin ruffian is a lot more fun to toy with, and I don't think any of us would like to miss his fight, it'll be coming up shortly."

"You have a slight point there," Gauche grit his teeth, "seeing that idiot does bring some amusement. I suppose I can join you rather than shy you away."

"H-hey!" A new voice suddenly interrupted just as Gauche was finally settling himself. The trio collectively turned their heads, with Finral finally being allowed to expand once more as Vanessa lifted her arm. All their eyes met the same water knight as she anxiously looked down upon them all.

"Not another loser," Gauche groaned as he immediately turned away to the battlefield with no interest in the girl.

Without another word spoken though, Noelle continued as Gauche's head averted, "Have...have you seen Asta by any chance? I had a little look around but I couldn't find him anywhere after I got back..."

After briefly pondering, Vanessa planted her arm upon Finral once again, "No, sadly. I saw him talking with Yami right after you left, but I lost track of him after that. I can't have my opponent getting lost though..."

Finral didn't even bother trying to talk as he clamped his jaw shut and remained in his role as an arm-rest.

"O-oh! A-are you looking for Asta?" Mimosa queried from a short distance away as she overheard their conversation. She erected a cradle to heal Siren as she too wandered to the group, "when he was done talking with Yami, I sent him out to look for Yuno since he himself hasn't returned, he went with Nero at least."

Puffing her cheeks, Noelle arrogantly flicked her head to the side and folded her arms, "Hmph! Of course he couldn't wait for me! There's no point heading out now, he'll probably be back soon anyway."

"I...would assume so..." Mimosa followed.

"What do I care if he went somewhere without me? It's not like him and Nero would get up to anything anyway..." Noelle thought to herself as he expression naturally began to die into one more of resignation, "I suppose I'm a bit too used to trailing behind him still..." However, she suddenly slapped both her hands against her cheeks, "No, I'm just overthinking this. I'll just talk with him when he's back...because we're friends...nothing more, nothing less, right?"

With her constant circulating thoughts of the boy, Asta was stuck in Noelle's mind as she anxiously twirled her hair and planted herself upon the floor, looking up to the cliffs and seeing the next battle already prepared as Mimosa planted herself alongside her.

"Is something troubling you, Noelle?" Mimosa curiously questioned as the Silva rest her head upon her plain palms.

"Nothing, just thinking," Noelle bluntly replied as she glanced at her cousin, "you know how Asta always manages to find a way to swamp himself into trouble, no matter the situation...I just hope he doesn't decide to do that now, though I suppose he can be quite helpless without me."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, but I wouldn't like to set flags for him," Mimosa lightly chuckled as she stared out to Mereoleona, who was screaming some words at the next fighters, but they flew straight through her. She tilted herself slightly, Magna and Ben facing down one another as she let out a slight huff herself.

Turning further to her now, Noelle stared down her ally, "Hey, can I ask a question myself then?"

Awestruck, Mimosa hesitated a long while before nodding, "Of course, what is it?"

"How come you don't worry for Asta so much now? You used to be up to your neck in anxiety whenever he stepped against a decently strong opponent, but now...things feel different..." Noelle blurted straight out as Mimosa blankly stared again in thought briefly at the odd question.

"Well, of course I worry a lot, honestly I do more now than I ever used to of all things, given the nature of his situation, but now, I've concealed most of it to myself because I know in reality I needn't bother spitting those anxieties, because all I'll do is add to Asta's mental baggage," Mimosa began as her firm words briefly stunned Noelle, "even just recently, seeing how bravely he stood against Yami, how dominantly he thrashed the nobles in such a weary state...after facing his power directly myself, I know I can trust him. Of course, I'll always have a natural worry for him, and odd words spill out...on top of that, in a real dire situation I'd of course let loose, but for matters so trivial to him, I figured best to suppress these feelings and turn them into my own power...a power than instead can drive me to support him in those times of difficulty."

Noelle was deep in thought as her lips didn't open for a single whisper.

"Given that, I suppose that means you're worried for him," Mimosa accused as Noelle suddenly jumped to life.

"M-me!? Worried for that idiot!? P-please! Like a bozo such as he could falter my nerves..." Noelle retaliated, her words slowly dying down to a mumble the longer she spoke as she turned away once again with her tightly folded arms.

Mimosa chuckled lightly as she stared on at the impending battle, "If you say so. I wouldn't try lying to your heart much longer though, it may end up hurting you more in the end."

Once again, she triggered an instant reaction from Noelle, however, she stood and began away from the Silva before she truly even managed to fumble a word, "Anyway, I've got to get back and check on my patients, go root on your friends!"

"Heh?" Noelle huffed to herself as she tore her vision away from the Vermillion with her fists clenched tighter than they ever had done before, "she's in my head, dammit! What can I do though…? As much as I hate to admit it, when I held Asta as I did back in that stupid canal, my chest ended up feeling tighter than it ever had done before...but...I just did it to save his life! Right...!? Right…?"

She wallowed in silence for a brief while once more, already hearing the clashes of her allies on the battlefield, "I'm really a mess when it comes to these feelings, aren't I? It makes me wonder all the more how Asta blends them into his mind. Then again, I suppose he's too stupid to even realise what those fluttering feelings are..." All sounds slowly began to drown out around her mental space as she blushed a bright red, "I just wanna know if deep down...that idiot has some true passion for me..."

The warmth that stirred in her heart was suddenly overwhelmed by an aching feeling in her chest as she tightly grasped the left side of her chest. Even with the sudden reaction, she managed to silence any whimpers of pain as sweat flooded down her face and her mind blanked out.

"Is...is it happening again?" Noelle panted as she tried her best to conceal herself, "no...this isn't like whatever happened after I talked with Mereoleona...I'm not bleeding. That must mean..."

Before she even made her own conclusions, she saw an image flash through her mind as her eyes spread wide. Though it was only for a brief moment or two, it imprinted clearly into her mind. There were many blinding lights that decorated the view as the night sky seemed to reign supreme, but that was the extent of what she could make out, at least before the image refined in her mind.

"Why..." Noelle heavily breathed as she felt a warm stream down her face as she raised her hand to it and felt it roll upon the tips of her fingers. She extracted her hand and stared at the dying tears, "Why...does this make me sad? Does this mean so much to me…?"

Another flash of the image finally refined in her mind as her eyes spread even wider than before upon finally hitting a realisation, "Snow…?"

"TAKE THIS!" Magna screamed, flinging a ball of flames directly at Ben who wielded a giant copper hammer.

"Your attacks are easily reflected, I've already seen so far way back when you fought the anti-magic child," Ben sternly said, slamming his hammer into the attack.

"Yeah, I expected that much," Magna grinned, seeming unaffected as his right arm still rested downwards from his powerful swing. Upon the collision of the flames and copper, the ball of fire suddenly exploded, decimating the hammer and knocking Ben to the ground, "That's why I planned ahead."

Despite the heavy blow, Ben quickly recovered to his feet, already panting as he was left with a few marks, "It exploded on impact instead...I had no idea he developed his attacks to have such a variety. It was impossible to read any difference in it to the attacks I once knew! How brutal, every attack of that kind is impossible for me to differentiate then, I can't read him!"

Boasting now with confidence, Magna strolled forth, "Sorry fella, but while I was once weak, don't take me to be the same as I once was! My magic's blossomed a lot more than even I imagined it could!"

"Tch! Don't get too far ahead of yourself!" Ben grit his teeth as he stomped his right foot forth, creating a wall of spikes that all bolted towards Magna at once, "don't assume me to be weak either!"

Magna pulled his right back once more as a huge ball of flames ignited once more and he bowed his head in reflection, "Yeah, I know you're not weak, and I'm only not weak now thanks to that short-ass subordinate of mine. Don't think I'll easily forgive you for missing me as I shine, Asta, but that just means when I rip Luck and the rest a new one, I'll tangle with you in the final and tear one up for you too!"

Instantly, his right flung forth, blasting a flurry of flaming balls towards the incoming attacks. They met half way, and once more the flames combust on impact, decimating Ben's attack as it crumbled to pieces and clouded his vision with smoke.

Soon after, Magna emerged from that very smoke, a giant flaming ball once more charged in hand as he pulled back, ready to launch it for once more as he yelled, "Maximum Exploding Fireball!"

"I won't be a punching-bag to your attacks, I can still stop you!" Ben confidently exclaimed, but as he did, the unexpected happened. Before he could even raise his defences, another two explosions collided with him, stunning him briefly, albeit with rather minimal force, "Attacks I couldn't see? Did he hide them in his barrage!?"

"They're minimal damage, but they can still generate enough to gift an opening!" Magna laughed as he brimmed with the utmost confidence, "now take this!"

The flames immediately collided with Ben blasting him back and stunning him completely as the flame refused to die out, continuously thriving and pushing Ben further away.

"Dammit! It's brutal! His flames are so strong, on top of that, he's giving me no opening at all! This is out my hands!" Ben reflected as he desperately struggled against the attack. As he struggled though, he felt another presence rush by him, causing him to glance behind his shoulder as he saw Magna stood there with a replica of the attack he just used in hand, "He used reinforcement magic to speed up and make it behind me!"

"I'm sorry this might be a tad bit overkill, but I'm not taking chances! I've got a rival to go and face!" Magna screamed as he slammed his final attack into the back of the helpless Ben, belting it's name at the top of his lungs, "MAXIMUM EXPLODING FIREBALL!"

As the magic collided, both spheres finally exploded at once, creating a beautiful explosion that withered high into the sky. The smoke sadly rolled over far too quickly though as the winner of the battle was presented clearly with no contest.

Yami had a humongous grin on his face, staring down at the lifeless opponent by Magna's feet, "Now that's how you go and win! What a pleasant display, and that makes it three Bulls for three in this group."

Feeling like crushing her own teeth, Mereoleona swiped her dominant hand downwards once again, "Ben is unable to move, Magna is the winner..

"I'd expect no less," Luck chuckled as he approached his ally, "you wiped the floor with him! As much as I'm going to wipe the floor with you!"

"I'll take the compliment part from that," Magna groaned, "but you should focus on winning first you-"

Through all the chatter, a single wail of agony stuck through all ears, cutting all conversation short as all eyes turned to the one Silva girl as she had collapsed onto her hands and knees.

"Noelle!?" Mimosa immediately panicked as she rushed down to her cousin's side, simultaneously erecting another healing cradle for Ben in the centre of the battlefield, "what's wrong!? What's happened!?" Her eyes immediately drew to the ground, spotting a slight puddle of blood, but within that there seemed to be a slight trace of black. She wasn't given much time to assure herself of what she saw though as Noelle instantly shifted her knee over the patch, and thus her whole positioning as Mimosa stuck to her side.

"Eh? What's up with the royal brat? I was just enjoying my celebrations dammit," Magna groaned

Luck curiously stared on with more concern though, not mumbling a word as he simply watched, as did most.

"This feeling..." Noelle pondered, "it feels like...I'm resonating with something, but what? Am I connecting with something? Is something else external making me feel like this? What the hell is going on with me!?"

"Noelle!" Mimosa beckoned into her ear again as she wrapped an arm around her, using a slight bit of healing magic as she prayed it had some affect, even if she had no clue what was happening in the first place, "can you hear me!?"

"It's rude to ignore others, you know?" Yami grunted as he suddenly landed before the two girls, catching both of their attention's as Noelle was knocked out of her daze to stare up at the brute, "what's up with you? Don't tell me you caught a bug or something."

Nervously glancing around, Noelle panted her response, "My...chest felt a little tight, and I felt a bit sick, that's all..." "I don't have the guts to tell them about what happened before, this may be connected, so I'll wait to affirm with Asta before I'm honest," Noelle sweat to herself as she lightly folded her fingers into her palms, "if it is the same thing, there has to be a reason why it's happening so soon...some sort of relation..."

Staring down with his constant intimidating gaze, Yami released a long sigh as he shifted to face his back to her, "I'll take your word. If that's the case, then as your captain, I order you to rest up until your next battle. You've got plenty of time to recover. Just don't end up in Asta's usual state."

"Y-yes...Captain..." Noelle slowly exhaled as she loosened all tensions, letting Mimosa help carry her further off to the treeline as she glumly stared downwards, aimlessly watching Yami stroll away in the corners of her eyes.

"Here, rest up a while. I'm sure you don't want Asta worrying when he gets back," Mimosa cheered to try and brighten things back up as she quickly skipped away, "I'll be back soon! I have to go tend to Ben!"

"Asta..." Noelle slowly puffed as she leaned snugly against the dense tree she was laid by, "if this is happening to me...I pray nothing is to you too… Please Asta...be safe..."

"Ah! He's getting closer, I think!" Asta grinned as he continued strolling forth, "to think he'd wander so far...he better have a good explanation!"

"Indeed," Nero sighed in disinterest as she strolled directly alongside her ally.

Glancing slightly at the bird, Asta immediately turned away with his arms crossed behind his head as he thought to himself for the meantime, "Since Yami brought her up, Loropechika's crossed my mind a lot. It feels like it's been so long since we've seen once another, but it's still recent as hell. It's a bit embarrassing of me to let her slip my mind, she's probably been worried for me, especially with these recent reports going through to her, yet I didn't spare a single thought, I guess I was getting a little caught up being back here..."

His movement halted as Nero continued to wander ahead without notice, "Yeah...the little time we've been back managed to set my mind back to before any of this nonsense all set loose. If only things were that simple still… After spending so long training in the Heart Kingdom, getting sent back here for the last few weeks was nice and refreshing to regain some normality and to help with the more internal preparations."

Nero began to slow and slowly turned her head as she noticed the lack of a presence alongside her. Asta bent his right arm upwards and clenched his fist as he stared into the skies, "I...guess I would have liked to stay a bit more, but it wouldn't bode well for my conscience if I didn't get to see the people of Hage a bit more before all hell breaks loose. Even so, we didn't come back to dawdle anyway, I'm not letting my training drop at all."

"Hey," Nero interrupted his thoughts as she glared back at him, "don't go drifting off. We're out here to find someone, not have a casual walk together."

"You were the one insisting not to go so fast," Asta sighed as he sped up his pace a bit to begin catching up to her as she restarted her movements, "you can just plop yourself on my head and let me run off, remember?"

"Silence," Nero harshly said as she pinched his cheek and used it to drag him on briefly before releasing it again and staring forth, "how close now?"

"Close," Asta breathed as he rubbed his cheek where it was pinched, "just a few more minutes and we'll probably find him. Besides that, I just remembered about Loropechika, I bet you've been thinking about her too."

Once again faltering her focus, Nero glanced back and ahead again, "So what if I have? Just like you, we developed a bond, that means she does cross my mind at times, especially due to what she needs out of me." Asta's curiosity raised as she continued, "Both of us are Arcane Stage, it means we have to be relied on, at least to kill those damned devils. I know you'll have felt that weight of responsibility too. In a sense, we're special, but it's the worst kind of special I could ask to be."

Asta's pace began to subconsciously slow, "What do you mean?"

"We're the only category of people who can slay these fiends, nobody else. The pressure of this magic of ours being so heavily relied upon is not so pleasant...knowing that this power must stand against something so sinister...it's unnerving," Nero explained. Though her words portrayed her to seem a lot more worried and frightened, none of it was reflected in her voice itself.

"I guess I feel the opposite," Asta shrugged as Nero's ears perked once more, "knowing that this power is the only thing that can stand against them...it just fills me with so much more determination to be better...to surpass all limits and win. Don't worry about faltering, even when things get tough," Asta roughly wrapped his arm around her neck with a toothy grin, briefly stunning her, "I'll always believe in you and be there on the battlefield to support you!"

A soft smile quickly washed over Nero's face as Asta eased off and continued walking behind, disconnecting their eye-contact as Nero smugly focused forward with her head held high, "Oh yeah? Well you better remember that this all works both ways. Just as I did against Zagred, I'll support you too when you need it most. You got that, Asta…? Asta…?"

After the lacking response, Nero swiftly turned around, her heart immediately racing faster as her whole body pulsed with a great feeling of shock. She saw clearly Asta wearily hanging onto himself, his feet constantly wavering with an arm wrapped around his gut as a stream of blood flowed over his lower lip.

"ASTA!" Nero immediately panicked, every warning sign went of at once as for the first time, her voice let out a pure, unrestrained scream. She scrambled forth, but she couldn't scramble faster than the speed at which Asta fell, causing her to watch his body ruthlessly clatter against the floor.

She desperately clawed forth towards him, letting out one final roar of unrestrained emotions, "ASTAAAA!"

NEXT CHAPTER: DEEPER INTO DARKNESS