The Royal Capital, Inside the Colosseum Arena
Asta could feel his body relax as the transformation finished. "Was that..." Asta questioned himself, reflecting on his exchange with the bounty hunters "the true power of the Omnitrix?" He had to admit that the power felt a little overwhelming. "The ability to end any conflict in seconds..."
He brought his wrist up, noticing the dial had lost all color. "Oh no. I didn't break you, did I?" He continued to drift through his thoughts before being ripped back out by the comments from the crowd.
"What kind of magic was that?"
"Didn't you say he was just some kid from the boonies?"
"Just who is this guy?"
"Does he really think he can become wizard king with a creepy power like that?"
Asta's ears perked up at the last comment, turning to meet the heckler. "All of you shut up already!" he shouted with a slight growl, angry that his hard work still wasn't being recognized. "I'm going to become the wizard king! You got a problem with that?!"
Any respect he'd earned from the crowd faded as laughter took hold. Nobody could take the short boy seriously, even after he'd beaten Sekke without taking a single hit.
"Is he stupid?!"
"Does he really believe that? Dumb peasant."
"Must be embarrassing, being a delusional idiot!"
"Get out of here already, stupid brat!"
"Who're you calling a stupid brat!" Asta replied, doing his best to stand up for himself against the torrent of hatred thrown his way from the crowd. Nearby some mages had brought out a stretcher and some warm towels, beginning to load Sekke onto it while trying to stabilize his body temperature.
"Another form of transformation magic?" Finral commented from the stands above, "Certainly on another level compared to what we've seen."
"Amazing..." Gordon whispered too quietly for anyone to hear, a slight smile on his face. "What a neat transformation!"
Sekke was finally loaded onto the stretcher, swiftly being taken to receive further treatment by the medical staff nearby.
"Judging from the other parts of the exam... it doesn't seem like he has that much magical power." Finral reminded his captain, "He couldn't even use a broom, just that pale-looking transformation."
"He's not using magic." Yami sternly corrected, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "Or at least, he doesn't have any magical power, and I didn't sense any from him earlier..." He thought, "and yet he really thinks he could be wizard king, huh?" He saw Asta finally beginning to walk out of the arena. "Julius sure picked a strange one..."
The next match had begun, taking place between two members of royalty. The blonde mage raised his hand to the air, his grimoire glowing a bright blue as a ball of water began to coalesce in the air above him. Across the battlefield, a brunette had begun summoning a few Golems of mud with glowing yellow eyes.
The water mage fired shots from his orb, quickly dispatching the mud creatures, but more immediately rose in their place.
"Man, royalty's so strong!"
"They already have so much talent and magical power! How could anyone keep up?!"
The blonde stayed on the offensive, launching multiple water whips toward his opponent. However, it was quickly countered as a giant golem grew three stories high, raising its creator away from the danger. The water mage began flying around on a stream of water, dodging the slow punches of the mud monstrosity, before eventually, it got a hit in, sending him plummetting back down to the ground.
"S-So cool!" Asta exclaimed. Sure he'd seen a few impressive spells when he fought Jonah, but this was on another level! The amount of power they were throwing around wasn't to be scoffed at, and he wasn't just gonna sit back and not enjoy a good show.
"On second thought, maybe the shrimp really is just a small-time lame-o, " a noble said as they passed by, his friend quickly agreeing with a grin. "No kidding. His opponent let his guard down too much."
Yuno was leaning a few pillars away, trying to maintain distance from Asta as he drifted through his thoughts. He looked to his left as he heard a group of nobles saunter up to him.
"Yuno was it?" asked a long-haired blonde noble. The man wore royal blue pants, a brown belt, and a light blue shirt. Finally, he wore a short white cloak with blue accents circling it near the bottom, featuring a puffy white collar. "You seem to be having trouble finding an opponent." He tried his best to not sound condescending, with a slight snicker in his voice, "Why don't you pair up with me?"
Yuno narrowed his eye's on the fool before leisurely moving away from his resting spot, motioning for his sparring partner to follow. The two entered the arena as murmurs began making their way through the crowd. The blonde lightly chuckled the entire time.
"Is that Salim?"
"From the famous Hapshass family?"
"You may have been chosen by the four-leaf..." Salim taunted with a sneer, "but you are no noble. I'll show you just how far below us nobles you are in wealth, status, and especially power!"
Yuno gave no reaction, much to Salim's anger. He merely took his place in the arena, readying his grimoire for the fight ahead. Asta was now near the front of the crowd, not wanting to miss a single moment of Yuno showing this guy just how wrong he was.
The referee walked into the arena, stopping between the two contenders. First, he looked over to Yuno, who gave a slight nod, and then to Salim, who did the same. With both contestants ready, he raised his arm and shouted, "Begin!" before quickly wiping it down, immediately taking his exit from the danger zone.
"You should know..." Salim spoke, his voice oozing superiority on every syllable as he twirled a lock of his hair "it's an honor just to be able to fight the great Salim De Hapshass. You can tell everyone in your village the tale for the rest of your life."
Yuno still remained silent. He merely brought out his grimoire, letting it float in front of him as it gave off a soft green glow.
"I'll at least treat you to a noble's ultimate attack: The Holy lightning Rising Salim!" He yelled as his grimoire began to glow with a blue aura, the pages flipping to the precise spell he needed to put this overconfident peasant in his place.
A massive ball of lightning began to form over Salim, nearly seven feet in diameter. It began sparking more and more as whips of energy struck the ground around him. The constant blue light it produced was undoubtedly worse than the Omnitrix's flash but still blinding to look at nonetheless, merely tinting the area blue instead of engulfing it. The crowd gasped in shock at the display of power in front of them, while Asta simply stared in awe.
Thunder accompanied the lightning as more and more energy whips began spiraling out into the sky. The captains looked on, unimpressed at the display. Even Finral not being swayed by the collection of energy. Salim simply stood there underneath, chuckling with a malicious smile as he let out, "I'll even pay for your trip back home," before launching the attack on Yuno. It grew closer and closer to Yuno until it was only a few feet away.
Yuno smiled slightly as an opportunity finally presented itself "Wind Magic: Towering Tornado." He swept his arm forward, manifesting the spell in front of him. A massive gale began swirling in front of Yuno, taking up the space between him and the ball of raging electricity. The attacks collided, causing wind and stray electricity to be thrown everywhere throughout the arena. It was too much for Salim as the intense air current lifted him off his feet. As thunder resounded throughout the arena, he yelled in pain as he was struck by a lightning bolt from his own spell. The spells quickly dispersed, causing an unconscious Salim to fall to the ground. The wind swirled around Yuno, and he stood triumphant over such a weak foe.
"No Way! He defeated that noble in an instant!"
"You can't be serious?!"
"That was Awesome!" Asta cried out in celebration. He didn't doubt Yuno's abilities for a second.
"Oh?" Nozel uttered, a candidate finally catching his eyes.
"Amazing," muttered Gordon, "I want to be his friend, too!"
"Wow." Finral said with a slight laugh, "Not bad."
"Yeah," Yami replied, placing another cigarette into his mouth.
William stared at Yuno, his purple eye's narrowing onto his grimoire.
The sun had begun setting on the day as the final fight finished. The crowd was let back into the arena's main section to announce the exam's results.
"This concludes the exam!" Shouted Vengeance, "Now then...Candidates whose numbers are called, please step forward!"
Charlotte stood up, her commanding yet angelic voice stretching through the arena. "The squad captains will raise their hands if they want you to join their squads. You can accept or decline, and if more than one captain chooses you, you may take your pick between them."
"But..." Fuegoleon continued, "If no one raises their hands, that candidate will not join the magic knights."
"And you will leave immediately." Nozel finished as the crowd began looking between each other with worry.
Asta looked at all the captains, then back down to his wrist. Feeling a tad guilty pushed the alien device too hard. Candidate after candidate went up, seemingly not a single one making it into a knights squad. Eventually, the 70th random candidate was called, a gasp of shock making its way through the crowd as someone was finally selected by the Purple Orcas. Still, barely anyone was making it in, the crowds' mouths agape as one of the most fearsome fighters didn't get a single invitation.
"This is getting...a little scary," Asta thought as he looked towards the ground. The stern gazes of the captains pierced through his very being.
The day was finally nearing its end as #164 was called up to decide their future. Yuno proudly stepped forward, not a hint of emotion on his face. One by one, the captain's hand began going up.
"Seriously?!"
"All the captains...raised their hands?!"
"That's amazing!"
"B-but I thought only royalty and nobles could join the Golden Dawn?!"
"Even the Silver Eagles? Seriously?!"
"But he's a kid from the boonies!"
"Every single one!" Asta thought as his mouth went agape, "That's Amazing, Yuno! N-Nothing less from my rival!"
The wind mage took another look through various the captains; Every door was now open for him. It was just a matter of picking the right one.
"I'll take the best path to become wizard king." Yuno thought before facing up and towards the center towards William and raising his voice, "Please, allow me to join the golden dawn!"
The crowd burst into cheers. A commoner making it into the Golden Dawn was not something to be taken lightly. This would be the talk of the nation for some time to come.
"They took a good one." Finral commented, "Too bad for us, though."
"But I wanted to be his friend..." Gordon whispered sadly in his deep voice.
"Oh well." Yami replied leisurely, "Can't be helped. We're not exactly the best option now, are we?"
The next random lot was called "Next, Number 10, please step forward!"
Finral turned his head to check, witnessing Yami's latest near casualty step up."Oh. I guess that kid's up next."
The whole world felt silent to Asta, the only thing he could hear being his footsteps against the stone brick floor as he closed his eyes in thought, "I can't let Yuno get ahead of me!". He turned his wrist slightly, angling it to see the device's dial, still grey. "I'm already stressed enough without the Omnitrix acting up." He finally reached the front of the arena, staring up towards the captain's before he bellowed out, "I'm ready!"
The glares of the captains were cutting through his body, his green eyes wide in equal amounts of fear and anticipation. "I don't care which squad it is..." He thought as sweat dripped down his face, "someone, anyone! Please raise your hand!"
His request went unheard hover, as he didn't receive a single invite. His eyes shrank as the announcer's voice rang out through the coliseum, "Number 10, No offers."
He'd been rejected. The most powerful weapon in the universe was on his wrist, and he'd been rejected. "N-No way..." he whispered as his face went pale from the shock, as he tried to shirk his attention away from the rowdy crowd behind him. "I-I'm not done yet."
"Go on, scram already! We don't have all day!"
"Yeah, what he said! You're a disgrace!"
His left arm shook as he clenched his fist, the crowd's constant jeers finally managing to wear even his strong will down. The Omnitrix seemed as dead as his chances of making it into the magic knights were. All of his hope seemed lost before a familiar, rough voice sounded out through the arena from above.
"Well, that's no surprise."
Asta's eye's widened in shock as he looked up toward the captains. Standing up from their seat was none other than Yami, captain of the Black Bulls.
"Yami?" Finral whispered, surprised to see his captain taking such a bold move in such a formal event.
The other captains merely looked on in interest at the silly bull's antics, except for William, whose eye's were glaring at Yami through his mask.
"No matter how high your combat skills are if the source of your power is unknown, no one wants anything to do with it," Yami stated boldly as could be as silence overtook the arena. His commanding presence showed all it was his time to speak, with no interruptions. "In the end, the only thing desired from a magic knight is their magical powers."
Suddenly, the ground beneath him seemed to shake for Asta as the crowd released gasps of shock. Yami stared dead-eyed towards Asta, the arena gaining a purple tint as torrents of purple energy flowed off his body. Even Yuno's calm demeanor was shaken from the endeavor. Yami swiftly jumped off the balcony, performing a three-point landing as the shaking intensified. The other captains watched, unfazed by the torrent of pressure filling the arena.
"Hey, Yami?!" Final stammered as he witnessed his leader descend upon the innocent crowd of people.
The captain straightened back up as he began approaching the wielder of the Omnitrix. Said device was finally reacting, green, black, and purple sparks flying off the device as the captain's mana overflowed the area. Whether because he refused to move or just couldn't due to the shaking, Asta remained where he was as the sinister figure grew closer, each step seeming like it could tear the entire world apart at any second. "S-So much pressure! This is..." Asta thought as every neuron in his brain tried telling him to run, "the magical power of a squad captain?"
The Omnitrix was growing worse by the second; whatever repair functions it had been thrown out the window as merely holding its hardware together became a struggle in the presence of this overwhelming mana, as more and more lashes of electricity began thrashing from the device.
Yami stopped a few feet in front of Asta, removing his cigarette from his mouth before speaking in a condescending tone, "And since you have no magical powers, no one wants you. We all got the briefing. That's just the cruel reality of our world." He leaned forward towards the tiny hero, sizing him up as he uttered, "You said earlier that you wanted to become the wizard king, didn't you?"
His figure seemed to grow more imposing as Asta stared up at him, face to face. His eyes felt like endless white voids that could tear him apart at any second. The captain spoke, "Which means you're going to surpass the nine captains here, right? Now that I'm right in front of you, do you still have the nerve to follow that dream, even without magical powers?"
Asta's convictions remained unfazed, tightening the grip in both his hands, even as he could feel energy pouring out of the Omnitrix over his arm. He stared towards the ground as he whispered, "E-even if I can't join the magic knights today...No matter how many times I fall," his eyes darted up to the captains. Without a hint of doubt in his voice, he raised his right arm, yelling, "No matter what anyone says about me. I'm still going to become the Wizard King someday!"
The energy began fading from the area as Yami stared intently at the boy. The Omnitrix stopped sparking, going red, the dial flashing black occasionally. The two rowdy figures' eyes were locked, neither's will seeming to budge. After what felt like an eternity, Yami cracked a small smile before bursting into a heartfelt laugh as he pointed at Asta with his right hand. "You're funny, Kid. Join my squad."
"Eh?" was all Asta could let out, his brain short-circuiting as he tried to process the captain's words.
Murmurs began to slink through the crowd, baffled by the exchange between the strange captain and the even stranger applicant. The slightest smile crept onto Yuno's face as he observed the result of Asta's hard work.
"Are you deaf?" Yami asked, awaiting a reply from the boy, "I'm telling you that you can join the Black Bulls!" Asta still gave no reply as Yami's demeanor grew dark, glaring daggers into Asta. "Declining isn't an option, kid."
"W-what?!" Asta whispered as he still failed to process what he was being told.
Yami's face bore a sinister smile. "I'll make life so miserable for you in my squad that you'll be torn to shreds, so be ready for that." He laughed, "and then someday, you'll become the Wizard King."
Asta's mind was finally catching up to reality after thinking back over all the struggles he's gone through to make it to this point. Training, finding the Omnitrix, saving the town and his family. Everything has led to this moment here. With tears of joy creeping into his eyes, his face returned to a smile. He brought up his fists, clenching them as he finally responded cheerfully to his new captain, "Yes, Sir!".
From the top of the stadium, a familiar bird watched every detail unfold.
The sun was finally setting on a long day as the final applicants were assigned. Those unfortunate enough to be denied walked out of the stadium. The crowd from earlier had shrunk quite a lot, but the members were still just as supportive as before.
"Good work!"
"Don't worry about it! You can always try again next year!"
Meanwhile, Asta went to go retrieve his items. His badge, belt, and sword were exactly as he'd left them in the locker. He glanced down to his wrist, the dial back to its standard green. He pressed the activation button, ensuring everything was in order, breathing a sigh of relief as the dial rose as expected. After securing his items, Asta set off to find his rival, quickly finding him leaning against one of the pillars. "Hey, Yuno!"
The familiar yelling caught the wind mage's ear, prompting him to walk over to his friend.
"Congrats, Yuno! You're Golden Dawn, and I'm a Black bull now!" Asta smiled in celebration. "That was just the first step. This is where our true battle begins!"
"Yeah. Let's see who'll-" Yuno's response was cut short as Asta's stomach made its discontent heard as it began gurgling loudly. Asta quickly sprinted off in the opposite direction.
"Oh no!" Asta yelled as he tried to find the nearest bathroom. "Was it the grilled purple snake I ate?!" He darted down one of the corridors, not noticing Sekke leaning near the entrance, his arms crossed with his grimoire in hand.
"Don't think I'm just going to let you leave, Asta." He thought as he began to creep down the corridor. "Because of you, I'm in one of the lowest ranking squads. I'm stuck as a freaking mantis!" His eyes darted around, making sure no one was here to witness what he was about to do.
"You're just a hick from the boonies. You really think you can become the Wizard King?" He opened his grimoire, slowly turning the page for the spell he desired most "Bronze Hex Magic: Sekke's poison Lizard."
A translucent blue lizard with spots began crawling out of the grimoire. It inched closer and closer to the door as Sekke could barely contain his excitement. "Luck can only get you so far, and yours is about to run out. You're about to be bedridden for life!"
A white shape quickly darted through the room as talons snatched up Sekke's Lizard, swiftly destroying it. "Just what do you think you're doing."
Sekke turned around, only to be greeted by Yuno, blocking the doorway as he held his grimoire in hand. A giant white wind falcon floating menacingly in front of him.
Sekke's flight instinct kicked in. "Buh-ha! I-I was just going to give him a little scare," he lied, "You know, as a parting gift!"
Yuno's gaze grew sharp as the falcon moved closer to Sekke. "Get lost already." Yuno muttered, barely a hint of mercy in his voice, seemingly looking down on Sekke, "You're no match for Asta."
Buh-ha graciously took the offer, quickly squirming past Yuno as he muttered, "I just remembered I had somewhere else to be. Buh-ha!"
The door to the lavatory slammed open as Asta walked out, patting his stomach, looking much better off than when he went in.
"All right then!" The boys thought in Unison and went their separate ways. "Let's get started!"
Captain Yami looked down towards Asta, disappointed in the new recruit already. "You've got some nerve, making me wait. Just how long does it take you to take a dump!?"
"Actually, it was really something! You see..." Asta said as he began explaining the experience.
"That's not what I meant!" Yami scolded as he picked Asta up by the head, the boy squirming in his grasp. "Who asked you to start talking about your turds, you moron?!"
He turned his gaze over to his subordinates, "Gordon, Finral, Let's get going!".
"Right-o," Finral replied as he raised his right arm, his grimoire glowing a bluish-grey in his left hand. A sizable circle of the same color appeared from out of nowhere. His face slowly growing more strained by the second.
"What's that!" Asta asked, still trying to squirm out of the captain's grasp.
"Since you can't magically fly, you'll have to learn some transport magic, too!" Yami explained before he remembered, "Oh wait. You don't have any magical powers!"
"I have plenty of ways to get around!" Asta protested, still trying to free himself from Yami's superior grip.
"Er, sorry to bug you, Yami, but..." Finral said as the portal ever so slightly shrank in size, "it's hard to keep a gate this size open for so long. Could you just go through it already?"
Yami's gaze quickly shifted away from Asta, his demeanor growing dark again as his eyes seemed to turn into white voids as he whispered, "Who do you think you're ordering around? Surpass your limits and tough it out."
"W-what?!" Finral whispered in fear as sweat ran down his face.
"Alright," Yami said as he easily threw Asta into the gate, "Off You go!"
Asta merely yelled in protest as he sailed through the magical portal, quickly transitioning from the crowded stone city to a crowded forest as he crashed into the dirt. The others quickly followed through the portal as Asta gazed at the sight before him. In front of him was what could only be at best described as an organized mess of a stone building. Rooms upon rooms protruded from the sides in all directions and orientations, all fitted with various windows. It seemed like the building hadn't seen much care in a while, with cracks and green moss littering the surface of the lone structure of the forest. Yellow light leaked out from a few windows towards the top of the building.
Asta's heartbeat quickened as his anticipation overwhelmed him as he stood back up. "Woah! So this is the Black Bull's base!"
"Well?" As he walked past Asta with a proud smile, Yami said, "Pretty Magnificent, isn't it?"
"Actually, it's pretty run down," Finral chimed from behind.
Asta burst into the reinforced wooden doors. "All right," he yelled as he pushed open the doors, "I'm Asta from Hage Village! Starting today, I'm going t-"
His introduction was cut short as an explosion engulfed the newbie magic knight before repelling him backward into the air and crashing face-first into the dirt.
Yami turned back from the flames towards Asta as he removed his cigarette, "Welcome to the absolute worst Magic Knights Squad, the Black Bulls."
Meanwhile, In the Golden Dawn's Courtyard
Yuno had just arrived, already being given his Magic Knights robe, quickly putting it on over his clothes.
He was standing in front of one of his new superior knights. He was a tall, slender man with short light blue hair with a fringe draping the left side of his head, barely covering one of his golden hoop earrings. Over his magenta eyes were a pair of black-rimmed glasses, forming a diamond over the bridge of his nose. He wore a high collared, white long-sleeved shirt with red accents in the middle and wrists with golden trimmings throughout. He wore immaculate white pants, with a pair of tall black boots, featuring blue fur at the top. Finally, underneath his signature squad robe, he wore a cerulean robe, reaching down to his ankles.
He pushed his glasses up and instructed Yuno in a doubtful tone, "So you're our new member this year. What's your name?"
Yuno kept his straight face as usual "Yuno."
"I'm Klaus Lunettes," He said as his eyes grew colder. "You're neither a royal nor a noble, but a peasant from the boonies, and yet Vengeance let you join our squad. What in the world is he thinking?" He paused as he determined his following words, trying to put this newbie in his place "Don't get a big head just because all the captains raised their hands for you at the exam. You won't be accepted as a member of the Golden Dawn so easily."
Yuno sized up the man in front of him, giving him a slight nod of understanding before he spoke, "I'll see to it that you accept me soon."
"That's some mouth you have," Klaus replied as he turned around, motioning for Yuno to follow him deeper into the base.
"And do mind where you walk while you have that sword." Klaus said before pointing to the Alien weapon on Yuno's hip, "I would hate for you to accidentally cut any of our tapestries."
Back at the Black Bull's Base
Asta struggled to free his head before flipping back onto his feet and running back into the flames. "I'm not done yet!" Unfortunately, a fireball blew right through the inferno, forcing him out of the way.
"Now I'm pissed! You better be prepared!"
Inside was what appeared to be another member of the BlackBulls. His hair was dual-colored, featuring a black mohawk with light gray hair to the sides, turning black again at the underside of his head. On his left, just under his hairline, was a straight mark, accented by three dots on each side. He wore a navy leather jacket with matching pants and a white undershirt underneath his robe. A silver chain hung from his black belt on his right, his grimoire pouch on his opposite hip, with a white skull with bones displayed proudly. Finally, he wore a pair of blue-tinted shades over his scowling face.
The threat seemed directed toward the figure floating in the air, with messy blonde hair covering his ears. Underneath his squad robe was a long-sleeved aqua-blue tunic that appeared rather loose on the boy but was held in place by the belt wrapped around his chest, holding his grimoire. His teal shorts were stitched together with straps on both sides, barely extending past his knees, leaving plenty of space above his tan boots. Finally, his face was overtaken by a smile, and his blue eyes locked onto the figure before him. He laughed a little before he spoke. "I'm not... but let's do this!"
The delinquent's grimoire glowed brighter as he continued hitting fireball after fireball with his flaming baseball bat screaming "Die" with every hit.
The floating blonde effortlessly dodged every projectile, laughing as they crashed behind him into the walls of the hideout.
The commotion did not go unheard as another member stirred from their drunken slumber on a nearby couch. She pulled herself up as a fireball landed nearby. Her squad robe was falling off her shoulders, the only clothing underneath being her red lingerie. Her wavy pink hair stretched halfway down her back, with her bangs swept to the left side of her face. Her cheeks were tinted red, slurring her words as she spoke. "What's all the ruckus?" She rubbed her head. "Ugh, I drank way too much. My head's killing me."
However, not every member was deterred by the fighting. At a nearby table absolutely covered in every manner of cake, pie, and sweet you can think of sat a small raven-haired girl, munching away without a care in the world at the feast before her. Her hair was done in an upside-down bun, fringes framing the side of her face as she ate, her green eyes closed in delight. She wore a simple white tunic extending past her waist, featuring a pouch filled with more snacks on the front. She wore simple black pants reaching just below her knees, with tan flats adorning her feet. Finally, she had a blue and gold satchel slung over her right shoulder.
A man with a golden adorned mirror and a glowing purple grimoire stood in the middle of the chaos. His nose was bleeding, thankfully not dripping down onto his clothes from his chin. Only one of his brown eyes could be seen, the other concealed by his shaggy, light brown hair. He wore a purple button-up shirt underneath some leather armor extending past his elbows. A large brown belt featuring a few smaller pouches and a larger grimoire pouch at the back was settled on his waist. His light brown trousers were tucked snuggly into his leather trench boots. Finally, two pins were fastened into his squad robe.
"You're as adorable as an Angel again today, my little sister Marie." He whispered with a smile before turning to the commotion behind him, "Keep it down, you morons!"
Near the back of the room was a gargantuan figure. They had pale grey skin with dead white eyes. Their black hair was slicked back, almost blending with their black tunic. Hanging from their ears were red sphere earrings linked to two more segments of spheres. They let out a low groan as smoke emerged from their mouth.
Asta simply stood in shock under the remains of what used to be the doorway. Were these people really magic knights? The people meant to defend the kingdom and save people's lives?
Finral, meanwhile, just seemed disappointed. "I see they're at it again."
"They're scary," Asta thought as he reassured himself, "but starting today, I'm one of them."
He tightened his fist, taking a solid step forward, announcing himself to them once again, "I'm Asta from Hage Village! It's a pleasure to meet you all! I'm going to be the wizard king!"
But nothing changed as the knights kept to their previous activities, destroying the rather nice-looking common area.
"That pudding you were saving was delicious," The blonde yelled as he kept dodging fireballs.
"That will be the last thing you'll ever eat when I'm done with you!" The fire magic user yelled as he continued his assault.
"That's enough, you two. What if you wake my little sister, dumbasses?!" the purple-wearing man yelled as he put his foot up on a table.
"Oh, shut up, Sister lover!" the drunken pinkette chimed in from her couch, rubbing her aching head. "I only remember up to the drinking contest with that old guy."
The small girl continued munching away at her food at the nearby table, only taking a quick break to thank the puffy walking sheep in chef's hat who had just brought her another helping.
"They're not listening at all." Asta sighed as he tried to maintain his signature smile.
"This is for my pudding! Bastard!" yelled the delinquent as he put some extra oomph in his swing.
The fireball sailed behind the laughing blonde, who quickly flew by the doorway, luring the flaming ball of destruction away from him and into Asta.
"Would you guys shut up? You're not helping my headache!" The drunk complained as Yami took his cigarette from his mouth, his face remaining stern besides a small puff of smoke.
"Why don't you?! You booze-swinging hussy!" the delinquent yelled.
"What'd you call me?! You virgin delinquent!" she shouted as she got up from the couch, marching over to the name-caller as she threw away her empty wine bottle, unfortunately hitting the already downed Asta.
"Wh-wh-who're you calling a virgin delinquent?!" he stuttered with a blush as he tried to rebuttal.
Unfortunately, his fight wasn't over as the speedy blonde floated above them. "Uh-oh! If you look away, you're going to die!"
"Just try and kill me!" the fire mage yelled as he began batting more fire toward the pudding thief.
The air grew quiet, however, as everyone could feel the rageful glare of their captain. His are was engulfed in purple mana as he tightened his palm into a fist.
"Will you all...stop breaking everything!" Yami slammed his arm into the wall, the front of the base collapsing further as dust shot out into the forest.
Asta finally regained his composure as the dust cleared, to see everyone practically frozen in place, only to be run over as the group stampeded past him to greet their captain and barrage him with questions.
"Mister Yami, did anyone get too uppity with you? If they did, I'll kill them!" the delinquent asked, only to be pushed out of the way by the lightning mage.
"C'mon, Captain! Spar with me today. With everything you got!"
"C'mon. Just ignore the brats and come drink with me," The pinkette asked as she practically hanged off Yami.
"Hey, hey, eat this!" The tiny glutton insisted as she held out a pink cupcake with a strawberry on top. "It's delicious, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry, captain..." the man with the mirror said, trying to sound tired. "I've reached my limit. Can I go see my sister now?"
Finally, the gargantuan figure merely let out more smoke from their mouth.
Yami let out a deep laugh. "I see, I see. So you guys love me that much, eh?" However, his demeanor quickly changed, scolding the rowdy bunch before him, "But you need to shut up."
Everyone quickly sat down in front of the captain, only saying a quick "sorry" as they silenced themselves.
"I brought a new mem" Yami looked around. "Where'd he go?"
Finral quickly pointed towards the gargantuan figure, who'd sat on the new recruit "over there."
Asta was reaching out with his arm, his face begging for help as all he could manage to whisper was "Save...me."
"Why are you fooling around over there?" Yami questioned.
"I'm not."
After rescuing the boy from his impromptu prison, it was finally time to give a proper introduction.
"Alright!" Yami gestured to Asta. "This shrimp is our other new member."
"Other?" Asta questioned.
"What was your name again?"
"Right!" Asta nodded. "I'm Asta from Hage Village! It's nice to meet all of you!"
"Seriously? Hage?" the delinquent pipped up. "Talk about living in the sticks."
"Hey," Yami said as he nudged Finral, "Introduce him to the other members."
"Oh, right. Well, you've already met him, but..." Finral motioned to Gordon, "This is Gordon Agrippa. He's pretty gloomy, and you never know what he's thinking, but he's a good guy."
"And this," he said as he pointed towards the pinkette, "is Vanessa Enoteca. She'll get in your face when she's drunk, but she's a good person."
"I won't get in anyone's face," Vanessa retorted before turning to Asta, "Isn't Hage out in the boonies?"
"Yes!"
Vanessa got up and approached Asta, getting right up in his face, causing him to blush. "To come out from the boonies and join the Magic Knights, you must've worked really hard, little boy. How about I reward you with a special treat?"
Internally Asta was a mess. No amount of training could have prepared him for this. "I wish I could accept that. But my heart only has room for Sister Lily!"
Before he could give his answer, Vanessa simply vomited rainbows in front of him.
"Alright then." Finral said, changing the topic, "Let's continue introductions."
"What?!"
"I'm next!" The blonde said as he stood up.
"This is Luck Voltia." Finral explained, "He loves to fight and is obsessed with battle, but he's good a good guy."
"Nice to meet you!" Luck quickly dashed to Asta, fists raised in a fighting stance. "Do you like to fight?"
Asta wasn't really sure how to answer the question. On the one hand, nothing compared to how great he felt while transformed. On the other, people have nearly died in some of the fights he'd been in.
"S-sure..." he managed to reply.
"I love to fight. Wanna fight? Wanna fight?!" He asked, giving Asta's open palm a few light jabs.
"Huh?"
"Hey"
Asta turned to look at the next person, only to be greeted with a picture shoved right in front of his face by the man in purple. It was a little blonde girl with red eyes, wearing a pink dress.
"Look"
"Huh"
He pushed the picture closer. "This is my little sister, Marie. She's an angel."
"Right..." Asta responded.
"Listen well," he said, lowering the picture, "if you lay a finger on Marie, I'll kill you."
"This is Gauche Adlai. He's a bit too obsessed with his little sister, but he's a good guy." Finral introduced before gesturing over to the glutton munching on a muffin. "This is Charmy Pappitson. She eats way too much, but she's a good person."
"Nice to meet you!" She mumbled through the muffin, raising a fist in greeting."
"Next is Grey. I don't know much about him, but he's a good guy."
Grey towered over Asta, even more smoke emerging from their mouth.
"H-Hi..." Asta managed to get out before Finral whisked him along to the final member.
"And then we have Magna Swing. He's a delinquent, but he's a good guy."
Magna glared at Asta through his glasses, doing his best to seem intimidating to the new recruit, and it was working.
" And I'm Finral Roulacase! I'm super popular!" he gladly announced before gesturing to Yami, "and last but not least, the captain of the Black Bulls, Yami Sukehiro!"
Yami simply stood in the destroyed doorway, vigilantly watching over his squad.
"He's not calling him a good guy?" Asta thought before bowing in front of Yami. "Th-Thank you for having me!"
"There are a few other members, but they're either on some mission, taking a break, or slacking off. Try to get along with all of them."
"Right!" Asta confirmed, "I'll try to get along super well with them all!" He turned towards the rest of the black bulls before yelling, "Once again. It's nice to meet all of you!"
"Ugh. my head hurts," Vanessa complained.
"Your height, volume, and voice are completely out of proportion," Yami commented.
"Yes, sir!"
"Shut up."
"Sorry!"
"Anyways, put him to work but don't kill him!" Yami commanded.
"Huh?!" Asta let out. Just what did he mean by putting him to work?
Magna immediately shot up from his seat on the floor. "Did you hear that?"
"W-what?"
"Mister Yami said to put you to work, and I'll gladly do just that." He glared at Asta, " A weak-looking shrimp like you from the boonies...I barely sense any mana from you." His glare grew even more intense. "And you're a new member of the Black Bulls? I don't know what you did to get on mister Yami's good side, but..." he tugged on his robe, " You want one of these, right?
"A-a Magic knight Robe..." Asta stammed a bit "So cool!"
"Isn't it? You want one?"
"I do!" Asta yelled with all the passion he could muster, "Please give me one!"
"Oh, yeah? You want it that badly, huh" Magna smirked. "In that case, you'll have to convince me, mister Yami's #1 man, that you've got what it takes. Time for your initiation into the Black Bulls begins now!"
Everyone had gathered outside the front of the hideout, some members even dragging a couch out. The large hole in the front of the building seemingly began to repair itself magically, stone, glass, and wood appearing from nothing but a white glow of mana.
Asta and Magan were facing each other from across the makeshift battlefield.
"Hey, hick from Hage!' Magna yelled across as he held up a brand new robe, "If you want one of these robes, then you're going to have to go through the trial I'm about to give you."
"Got it!" Asta yelled, psyching himself up for whatever Magna would throw at him.
"ahh-ha," Vanessa yawned, "he's making up initiation rituals again."
"I wanna do it, too!" Luck said, trying to stay still in his seat.
"You can do it. You can do it. You can do it. You..." Gordon whispered off to the side of the couch.
"Let's start this thing!" Magna yelled, "First, show me just how much guts and stamina you have! Five thousand sit up!"
Asta was already on the floor doing situps with all his might in the blink of an eye. "Got it!"
A display of nearly inhuman strength followed, comprising Five thousand pushups, lifting a giant boulder over his head and then breaking said boulder with nothing but his head. He failed the first attempt, rolling around on the ground in pain as he clutched his forehead.
"I'm not done yet!" he yelled, putting even more might behind this headbutt, causing a large crack to appear along the exterior of the boulder.
"The kid's not bad, though this is pointless." Vanessa sighed as she rested her head on her hand.
"Not that it matters. Since magic is everything in this world, but he has a crazy amount of energy," Luck commented bluntly.
Asta steadied his breath as he recovered from the trial, "H-how's that?"
"I guess you have some guts," Magna admitted.
"Did I convince you then?" Asta asked as he got in Magna's face, caught up in the moment. "Can I have my robe now?
"Not yet!" Magan answered, "it's not gonna be that easy for a hick from the boonies. There's one more. The final trial of the initiation!"
"The final..."
"You can use magic or whatever else you want..." his grimoire surged to light with fiery orange energy as a ball of fire swirled into his hand, "to block or dodge my attack magic! If you can do that, you'll officially be a Black Bull and receive your robe."
Asta will didn't falter before the challenge. "You got it! I'll do my best."
"Shut up, hick!"
Finral sighed, readying his magic just in case.
"Hold up your grimoire, you stupid shrimp!" Magna yelled as he held his arm back, ready to launch the ball of fiery energy.
"Oh... about that," Asta sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "I don't have one."
The fire in Magna's hands immediately went out. "W-what do you mean you don't have a grimoire!"
The rest of the black bulls looked on in shock, excluding those at the exam.
"W-wait, if he doesn't have a grimoire, what's in that pouch on his belt?" Vanessa asked?
"He's gonna die!" Luck laughed as he readied himself for the carnage.
"What is the captain thinking" Gauche whispered as he kept staring at his picture of Marie.
Asta looked back at the main group, seeing so many seemingly lose what sliver of confidence they had, except one. He couldn't determine what he was saying, but Gordon gave him a thumbs-up, and Asta gave a quick one back before turning back to his trial.
"I'm not going to give up over something simple like not having a grimoire!" Asta goaded, hand having pressed the button on the watch, "Hit me already!"
"Grr..." Magna manifested another fireball. "You asked for it!"
Asta smirked as he finished scrolling to the correct for. "Bring it on!" he slammed down the dial, a green flash engulfing the area, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Standing in Asta's place was the kineceleran hybrid, "XLR8!"
"Whoa! What's that!" Luck let out, gripping his seat as he leaned forward in excitement.
"He transformed!" Vanessa commented, still stunned at the strange-looking 'mage' before her.
The others looked in amazement, with Charmy eating even more food, Gauche actually looking away from the picture of his sister, and Grey taking a few steps closer for a better look.
Magna remained unphased, not willing to let down his facade so quickly. His grimoire glowed brighter as his signature fiery bat emerged from its pages. "You ready?!"
"Yup," XLR8 replied, taking a deep breath as he readied his muscles.
"Then here I go!" Magna yelled as he began rapidly taking swings at the floating ball of mana, causing it to split off into a multitude of projectiles, all bound for XLR8.
XlR8 concentrated, feeling the world slow down as adrenaline began to fill his veins. Dodging came at no cost as he effortlessly weaved through the fireballs. He had to admit that the flame magic felt slow compared to Six-Six and Kraab, whose laser shots were much harder to avoid. He may have even been able to avoid them without transforming. The dust settled from his maneuvers. Magna's scowl grew as he saw not a scratch on the initiate.
"That all you got?" Asta fake yawned as we waited for the outcome.
"Grrr!. Not bad," Magana smirked. "But the true test starts now!"
Magna flourished his hands, causing the bat to vanish. His grimoire grew brighter as the pages rapidly turned to its user's desired spell. He swept his hands back and generated a tiny spec of fire that quickly grew into the largest ball of fire yet. The area swelled with heat as mana pulsed out from Magna in droves.
"It's so hot," Vanessa commented as she fanned herself.
"Flame Magic:..." The fire swelled larger than Magna himself as he held it in the air before collapsing to a more useable size as Magna threw his pitch, "Exploding fireball! Die!"
The attack zipped across the battlefield at astounding speeds. However, it was still nothing but an average attack to a kineceleran, hybrid or not.
"Y'know," he thought as the fireball slowly made its way to him, "I could show off a little." He quickly scanned the area, noticing a few pebbles on the ground. "And I know just how to do it."
As it made it halfway across, dust suddenly stirred up again before being engulfed by an explosion of fire, completely obscuring the result behind the all-encompassing orange light.
"Wh-what happened?!" Charmy asked as she frantically tried to find any sign of the recruit. "Where is he?!"
"Magna, you idiot!" Vanessa called out as she rushed forward, "You killed him!"
"No, he didn't," a voice called behind them. "I just chose to detonate it myself." The Bulls turned behind them, seeing XLR8 leaning against the hideout's wall.
"Well," Finral sighed as he put his grimoire away, "At least we didn't have to save another new recruit's hide."
"Amazing," Yami thought as he replayed the last few seconds in his mind. "Not only did he have plenty of time to get out of the way, he still had enough time and precision to throw a rock at it as he fled. How interesting."
"Wait a minute," XLR8 realized as he zoomed over to the fire. "Is he dead? That one was a lot more intense than the others."
A silhouette had begun to appear from out of the flames, steadily growing closer before revealing itself as Magna, now covered in soot, missing his glasses, and with his cloak still hosting a few embers.
"What?!" XLR8 hissed with a look of confusion "he took that head-on with barely a scratch to show for it!"
"I was able to nullify it in time, so I'm fine, but I was almost offed by my own magic," Magna muttered as he approached XLR8 before running straight at him as XLR8 froze somewhat in fear. "You bastard!"
He put his hands on XLR8 shoulders, looking down to conceal his face before looking him straight in his eyes with glee exclaiming, "You're not half bad!" before letting out a boisterous laugh as he patted his new comrade's shoulder, finally letting down his facade.
"Not only could you dodge my magic! You even blew it up mid-air!" he laughed. "I like you, shrimpsta!"
"It's Asta! But when I'm like this, you can call me XLR8!" he replied, trying not to lose balance on his wheels as Magna kept slamming his back.
"Sorry, I made fun of you for being a backwoods hick with no magical power! I'm actually from the country myself, over at Rayaka village."
"Oh! I think I stopped by that place once or twice during my morning runs! It's way out in the sticks!"
"Like you can talk!"
Unnoticed by all except Yami, another member watched from one of the many patios on the hideout, doing her best not to be seen.
"Y'know, It's not that I have little magical power..." XLR8 explained sheepishly, caught up in the moment, "I don't have any at all."
Magna's voice grew quiet and fierce. "Huh? You don't have any magical power?"
Asta's shoulders stiffed, realizing he may have said too much.
"And yet you were able to completely out-maneuver my attacks?"
"Y-yeah..."
Magna's voice softened as he looked at Asta with confidence. "That's even more awesome. It means you're a real man!"
Asta's eyes widened at the compliment before looking down at the Omnitrix as a familiar beeping filled his ears. The others looked on in confusion before covering their eyes as Asta was quickly consumed in a red flash as he changed to normal. With the trial officially over, the other Black Bulls all jumped at the chance to congratulate their newest member.
"Wow! You're really fast! Wanna fight!" Luck asked, "Let's see who's faster!"
"Not bad, little Boy," joked Vanessa.
"Stay away from my sister," Gauche said.
"You must be tired. Wanna eat?" asked Charmy as she held out another pink cupcake for Asta.
Grey leaned down to Asta getting a closer look at him before more smoke emerged from their mouth as they backed away.
"Alright!" Luck cheered as he gave a few jabs to the air, "It's time for the second initiation! Let's try and kill each other!"
"C'mon, it's yummy!" Charmy insisted.
"Oh, thanks!" Asta said as he reached out to take it.
"You can have half!" Charmy said, quickly splitting the delicious treat in two before changing her mind as she salivated. "Actually, half of a half!"
"Thanks!"
They both took a bite, blissful from the fantastic taste exclaiming, "Yummy!"
"Okay, Okay," Finral clapped to get everyone's attention. "Isn't there something more important you should be doing?"
Magna turned to Asta, pulling out a brand new Blacks Bulls Magic Knights robe. "This is yours, Asta! You earned it!"
Asta froze in place. After all these years. He was finally here. Just inches away from finally becoming a true magic knight. His face grew red as his eyes trembled in joy, taking in the moment.
"You don't want it?" Magna joked as he swiftly snatched it away.
"I do! I do!" Asta replied, quickly snagging the precious piece of gear before holding it proudly to the sky with a smile. "This is mine."
"Go ahead, try it on!" Vanessa said as she twirled her dark pink wand, causing Asta's robe to float above his head before descending snuggly over his shoulders and fastening itself, "and while we're at it..."
She flicked her wrist, causing Asta's headband to completely turn around. Magical pink thread began sewing itself into the front left of the headband before glowing brightly and transforming into a gold Black Bulls patch. Asta stood proudly before his new squad members, doing his best to not break down crying from sheer joy.
Magna smiled as he saw the Joy on Asta's face. "Looks good on you, don't you think so, mister Yami?"
"He looks pretty bland."
"And now, you're officially a member of the Magic Knights Squad, the Black Bulls!" Magna congratulated, "You better work hard not to shame mister Yami or the Black Bulls!"
"Thanks! It's a pleasure to work with all of you!" Asta bowed towards his new companions before yelling to the sky in victory.
"Shut up!" Yami threatened.
"I'll be more careful next time!"
"So, Asta," Finral asked. "I gotta ask. If you don't have magic? How do you do all those crazy transformations?"
"Wait, he has more than one?" Magna asked, shocked.
"Yeah! He had this..." Finral began to explain.
"Uh oh," he thought. This was the first time Asta had to explain himself to anyone outside his village. Hopefully, the cover story he worked on with Tetrax and Yuno will work.
"Well, I..." Asta began to explain as he blinked before everything faded to grey as his new squadmates froze in their tracks. "W-wait, what's happening!?"
He took a few steps back as his mind tried to figure out what exactly was going on before he heard a voice from seemingly all around him.
"Apologies for that."
A blue light appeared before fading into the form of a man wearing some of the strangest attire Asta had ever seen. He wore a white lab coat over a brown vest with a black tie, simple black pants, and black dress shoes. Around his neck rested a pair of green lab goggles.
"W-who are you? What did you do to them?" Asta asked as his hand hovered over the Omnitrix.
"Oh, don't be like that, Asta." He said, casually walking over towards Asta before extending his hand. "Care for a Gumball?"
Asta merely stared at him in bewilderment. "How do you know my name?"
The man's face furrowed as he realized his mixup. "My mistake. This must be your first time meeting me." He took a slight bow before the boy. "My name is Professor Paradox. Simply put, I'm a traveler of time and space."
"Meaning?" Asta questioned, taking a more relaxed stance.
"I can go anywhere. And most importantly..." A bright flash of light emerged, blinding Asta before revealing the arena from the exam. However, the most shocking thing was that it was right in the middle of Asta's fight with sekke. "Anywhen."
"So, what do you want with me?" Asta questioned as he looked around the frozen past, noticing a few details he'd missed the last time he was here. He took extra time to examine his past self, noting how strange Eyeguy looked to an onlooker.
"Nothing right now. I'm just here to prepare you for the journey ahead." The scene flashed again, now revealing a white powdery terrain filled with craters. Asta looked around, seeing the twinkling stars in space and Earth hanging peacefully above.
"Whoa... are we?"
"On your Earth's moon? Quite magnificent, isn't it? Oh, and don't worry about breathing. I've already taken care of it." He put his hand on Asta's shoulder before pointing towards the clover kingdom with the other.
"Your world is filled to the brim with powerful beings. Many of whom would stop at nothing to acquire the power of the Omnitrix. There are ancient forces at play, Asta, with danger around every turn. There's no telling who you can trust." He removed his hand, taking a few steps forward before turning to face Asta.
Asta searched his thoughts, taking his time with his question. "But what if I mess up? Reveal the truth of the Omnitrix to someone I shouldn't?"
"It's up to you to decide who's worthy of your secret. I believe the Omnitrix will be safe in your hands, but a few more can always help alleviate that burden. Friends are there to help after all."
Asta processed his word before nodding in understanding. "Right! I promise to do my best!"
Paradox smiled. "Ahh! There's that good old Asta confidence!" He pulled out his pocket watch from his coat. "Now enough dawdling. Let's get you back to your new friends."
With a final flash, Asta was back outside the hideout. The world slowly regained color as time began flowing.
"C'mon, you gotta tell us!" Magna asked, excited by Finral's description of the new shapeshifter's forms.
"Well..." Asta began Paradox's words fresh on his mind "I never managed to get manifest magic." Asta explained as he moved closer to the group, "All I ever wanted to was be a Magic Knight, so I did the only thing I could. I trained every single day, hoping that might help."
He glanced down to his wrist before continuing, "Then, One day, I went looking for a new training spot, only to stumble upon a bunch of old broken magic items, though I didn't know it then. Long story short, my brother got attacked when he received his grimoire. I made it there in time, but I wasn't enough."
He started rubbing the outside of the Omnitrix, smiling a bit. "I felt like I was going to die. But then this thing spurred to life. I transformed, kicked the guy's butt, then started training harder than ever for today."
"Wow... that's," Magna whispered before bursting with emotion, "One of the manliest things I've ever heard!"
"You've gone through a lot already for someone so young," Vanessa said with a slight smile.
After the ceremony, everyone began going their separate ways throughout the base.
"Asta, this way!" Magna motioned him to follow, "There's probably a free room this way."
Magna led Asta through a maze of hallways before eventually arriving at a small door.
"This will be your room," Magna said as he opened the door.
Inside was a rather dusty room, smaller than the one he shared at the church. It barely had enough space to accommodate a bed, desk, a small bookshelf, and the multitude of spider webs littering the area.
"Huh," Asta questioned as he took a step inside.
"Well? Isn't it depressing how small and filthy it is?" Magna said before giving a slight laugh, "By the way, my room is twice as big-"
He was cut off, though, as Asta cried in joy, "My own room!"
"He's actually excited?"
Asta ran up to Magna. "I-I've never had my own room before! We all shared the same room at the church, so we'd line up and sleep next to one another."
He quickly brought up the Omnitrix dial, not wasting a second before transforming into XLR8. He promptly vanished, then reappeared with a bucket, rag, and duster. "I'm gonna get you so clean!" Like a tornado, he dusted the walls, cleaned the floors, and swatted the cobwebs seemingly all at once.
Magna chuckled at the new recruits' enthusiasm before taking his leave. "You're free to do whatever until we get a mission. Oh, and by the way..."
"Yeah?"
"Make sure to write letters to everyone at your church. They're your family, right? I'm sure they're worried about how things turned out."
"Right!"
"Don't make anyone worry about you." Magna said as he beat his chest, "That's how to be a real man. If you need anything, come and see me."
Magna closed the door on his way out. XlR8 turned to continue cleaning but quickly noticed something had changed in the blink of an eye. Sitting on his desk was a small lidded jar filled with colorful orbs. The makeshift label read, "Enjoy the Gumballs! They're some of my favorite flavors- From Paradox".
"So I guess I wasn't dreaming."
In no time, he'd finished cleaning, taking a seat at his table, and pulling out a piece of paper and a shoddy-looking pencil. He unscrewed the jar, plopping a gumball into his mouth as he began writing to his family.
"This is my first castle. From here, I'm going to climb my way up and become wizard king."
He stopped writing, staring out towards the moon with a smile. "I'm not going to lose, got it, Yuno?" he thought before turning back to writing as an explosion of flavor hit his mouth. "Wow! These are pretty good."
Golden Dawn's Base, Yuno's Room
Almost everything was accented with a glossy gold sheen, practically screaming of noble status this room was initially meant to hold.
"This room is wasted on you." Klaus said as his pushed-up glasses, "Tomorrow, I'll be lecturing you on your duties as a Magic Knight. I'd rather not be your instructor, but the captain ordered me, so I have no choice. Are you listening?"
Yuno lowered his head and closed his eyes in frustration, saying, "It's Yuno. I have a name, and it's Yuno, Klaus."
Klause glared down at him, raising his head as his eyes filled with a bit of surprise and disgust. "I'm your Senior. You'll address me with respect."
"Understood." Yuno automatically replied.
Klause scoffed as he left the room. "Don't be late tomorrow."
Yuno walked over to his new desk, setting his sword down on the side of it. He brushed his hand across the surface of the glossy desk before staring up at the same moon as Asta.
Unknown Location
Across the country, a large hooded figure held out its arm. The small object in his hand sprung to life with magic, projecting a screen in front of him. Upon the screen was a figure clad in armor, with a golden mask and steel crown. On his torso was the insignia of a purple and gold shield.
"Why are you calling me?" The knight uttered, "I have more important things to deal with than your dealings."
"I thought you would want to hear this, sir," The figure grabbed a piece of paper from the nearby desk, holding it so the knight could see. On it was a crude depiction of the Omnitrix and the transformations Asta showed at the exam. "I've never seen anything like it. This has to be one of them. An alien!"
The knight seemed surprised by the information, confirming what he saw before regaining his composure. "Then the time has come. The moment that we have waited oh so long for. The scourge has returned once again. Thank you for this information. You shall be paid kindly for your efforts."
The knight closed his device before putting it aside. "Squire, come here."
From outside the room, a rather scrawny-looking blond entered the room wearing a chain mail vest "Y-Yes, my liege."
"The time has come to begin preparing our defense. The forever knights will not go down so easily!"
There we go, another chapter. Unfortunately, this one has been on the back burner for a while due to my health, and a bit of the chapter I just couldn't seem to fix until now. Rest assured, though, I've got up till the end of the Elves Arc planned. Next chapter is in the works, but no title for it yet since it may cover a few of the anime Episodes. Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for their patience.
