The way down to the temple was not like Asta had expected it. Then again, he didn't know what to expect at all. It wasn't like he had ever been this deep under water.
The masses of water around them seemed to get larger the deeper they went. The flow of the water was never the same. Sometimes it was stronger, other times it was weaker. And it seemed to change with every step they took.
Sure, with Noelle's magic, it didn't feel as powerful as it probably was, but Asta could still feel himself losing balance now and then. He probably would've fallen over a few times by now if it wasn't for the strong hold on his waist.
That's right, since last night, Yuno seemed very fixed on showing the others what they were now. Asta didn't really know himself what they were now. Boyfriends? Maybe.
He actually wouldn't mind that. He had to talk about that with Yuno later. Now all that mattered was finding the magic stone and bringing it to safety.
The place where the temple was, was bigger than Asta had thought. It was a whole village filled with people. They were surprised by the fact that someone was even able to get down to their temple.
But they didn't seem to be bothered either. Just confused. Apparently, they didn't get company from strangers often. He wasn't surprised by that. How and why would people even come down here. They were only there for the relict, nothing more.
And when some of them told them where the temple was, all of them headed straight towards it.
It was large and represented water and the ocean well, at least in his eyes. Noelle seemed to be extremely impressed as well. Maybe because of her magic.
Inside, an old man was waiting for them. The doors slammed shut behind them.
"Welcome to the water temple" he said with a smile. "I'm the high priest Gifso."
For a moment Asta wondered if Yuno knew how to talk to a priest, a high priest at that. He had told him that he had grown up in a church. There were priests as well, right. Maybe he knew how to talk to him properly.
As much as he loved his father, he was bad with talking to people with at least a little bit of manners. The first thing he would do was laugh at him for the strange outfit and then start making fun of the rest.
"You guys are after the magic stone, aren't you?"
Asta looked at him with surprise, just like the rest. How did he even know that? They had yet to say even a single word as to why they were here. He wondered if this was part of his magic.
"If you want it, why don't we play a little game?" he asked with a mysterious smile.
"Play a game with you?" the teen repeated.
Silence filled the space for a moment before Gifso's eyes went over to Vanessa and Noelle.
"I call this game…. The boob squeezing game!"
Not even a second later, the old man found himself struck to the ground by Noelle, who was repeatedly stomping on him with her foot.
"Nobody's going to be playing that" she scolded, continuing her torture method.
"Hey, hey" Asta laughed raising his hands in defense. "Don't beat up the high priest. I'm sure he's important."
Noelle scoffed, looking at her squamate. "And I'm royalty" she reminded.
Gifso looked up, holding his cheek in pain. At some level, Asta thought, he might deserve this. He had learned from his mother to treat people equally, but there were some things you never asked a woman to do for you.
And this certainly fell under that category.
"Oh, I'm just kidding" Gifso said.
Asta huffed. Another thing Mom said. This was nothing you were allowed to joke about. Especially not as a man.
"Alright" Yami spoke up. "Bring it, old man. What game will it be?"
Asta almost groaned in embarrassment. Dad had to be like that again, didn't he? His gaming addiction was going to get him killed one day. And the teen was glad that he hadn't inherited that from his father.
"Why a normal game would be boring" Gifso laughed. With a snap of his fingers, more people emerged from behind him.
Asta leaned his head to the side in confusion. They were all wearing masks that resembled creatures of the sea. He didn't know why though. Because of the red hair, he knew that Kahono was standing there too. Where was this going?
"We're doing a…. temple royal rumble!" Gifso laughed loudly. "Let the game begin!"
Before he could react, a water-based transportation spell brought him and the others away. He found himself alone in one of the large rooms of the temple, lagging right on his butt.
Shaking the water off of himself, the teen stood up and looked around. Cave walls everywhere, nothing else. As he was about to go forward, he heard the voice of the old priest.
He explained the rules. How all of them were fighting against each other. Ten against nine. Knock out your opponent, you win. If they give up, you win. And the other way around of course. Asta grinned. As if he would ever give up.
Wipe out all of them and you win as well. Or if the time runs out, whoever has the most members left. You can fight, you can run. Something else Asta could only laugh about.
Fight alone or together. Simple enough.
But now Asta wondered why they weren't balanced out. And why they were ten, not eleven. Asta groaned. Was Dad sitting this one out and watch them again? He could already hear him bickering about not dying.
With a sigh, he turned only to face one of the people from earlier. A kraken-like mark covering their face. Silence. For a moment, just silence as they studied each other. Then a laugh.
"Good grief. Guess I picked the loser."
Asta grinned, pulling the large broadsword out of his Grimoire. "Wanna find out if I'm actually a loser of not?" he challenged.
He didn't even leave the guy enough time to answer, before rushing forwards and slamming his sword right into the other, who fell to the ground.
"Next!" he grinned.
At some point, Asta found himself fighting someone who reminded him of Kahono. The way he moved around, the way he talked about his dreams and even his magic.
While Kahono had singing magic, this guy had dance magic. It was similar enough to make him think that they were related. He had seen Kahono with the others earlier after all. It wouldn't be much of a surprise.
This magic was making it hard for him to even land a proper hit. But he had his own goals.
"You're not the only one with a dream! I'm gonna become stronger and become wizard king. So for that dream, I'm going to take you down!" he yelled.
Rushing forward, Asta finally managed to land a proper hit. The mask broke, revealing a young man with dark blue hair. He was about his age. He laughed.
"Then let's bet our dreams on a head-to-head showdown!" he spoke.
"Bring it on!" the teen grinned.
Asta felt like he had been fighting for hours. The sound of his sword clashing against the others weapon being the only sound in the cave around them. He felt himself reaching his limits. He couldn't even follow the Ki properly.
What did Dad always say? Go beyond your limits. And as he calmed down and actually tried to read the Ki in Kiato's movements, he was able to dodge, and slash back!
It could've went like this for hours when….
"Oi idiots, listen. Someone broke into the game" Dad's vice rang through the cave.
Both of them stumbled to a stop, giving each other confused looks. Someone broke in? What was that supposed to mean?
"Some guy from the midnight sun" he continued.
"You're gonna help us with him, right Dad?" Asta asked hopefully.
He knew that his father had a way of throwing them into the cold water, but this time it was different. This guy was really dangerous, stronger than a Captain, according to what their leader had been saying.
"Uh yeah, about that" Yami stammered.
"Dad?" Asta asked confused and a bit worried. He wasn't going to leave them hanging, right?
"Would really love to help, but I can't" he confessed.
"You can't? Grandpa, what's going on?" Kiato asked.
"Apparently one of them has the right magic to keep us trapped. We have no way of helping you" Gifso explained.
Asta cursed under his breath. This was bad. So there was no way but to get through this themselves.
"Now it's time you all surpass your limits. And Asta…"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful."
Asta blinked once, twice. He had never heard his Dad so concerned before. Usually, he was rough and joked about everything. This time he was genuinely concerned. He didn't know how to feel about that.
"Well then if they are changing the game then so are we. No time limit! All of us against the intruders. Those who help our team will be having their wishes come true, as long as my authorities as high priest can grant it" Gifso spoke.
"Alright, lets go!" Kiato said smiling.
Asta nodded, following the other through the halls. He knew this place better, so it was only logical to follow him.
He still wondered where the others were. If they had already made it towards the intruder or if they were wandering around in the temple alone. If so, then they would have to find their way to the enemy on their own.
When they reached a much larger room, Asta was surprised and angry at what he saw. Luck and Magna on the ground, unconscious. They had given their best, he knew that.
He remembered the man that was standing in the middle of the room. His name was Vetto and last time he had met him, he immediately realized how strong he was. That didn't stop him or Kiato though from running straight at him.
Asta tried to hit him several times, but no matter how fast he moved he just couldn't hit him. At some point both of them even received a punch right into the face. Yes, that hurt, but not enough to stop him.
What he didn't see coming though, was that Vetto was not playing around like others had. With one slash of his beast magic, he cut Kiato's leg right off, sending him flying into the wall.
Dust settled around him as he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Angrily, Asta looked back at the member of the midnight sun. How could someone be so cruel? So fixed on hurting people and making them feel so much pain.
"The anti-magic brat. Who would've thought that I would meet you again so soon" Vetto said.
The teen just glared at him. He had nothing to say to someone like him. Someone that stopped at nothing to hurt innocent people. Yet, he was interested in knowing what Licht had meant, when he said he wouldn't kill him.
"A teenager who doesn't even know the truth about himself or the world" the man laughed.
Asta breathed in deeply.
"The cruelty of humans. The destruction they bring upon other races and even themselves. And you in the center. You who are unable to use any magic and is frowned upon for it, defend them?"
"There are….. many reasons to hurt other people. Revenge, jealousy, pure anger and even loyalty" Asta mused, eyes closing for a moment before he stared at the other man again.
"But I don't need a single reason to help others."
"Interesting"
Pain hit him as his right arm was being crushed in the vice grip of the other. The teen could hear the bones giving into the pressure, snapping in some places.
"Master Licht has told us not to kill you. But I'm sure that a bit of pain is okay. You can take that, right?" Vetto laughed.
He was tempted to scream but didn't want to give the other this satisfaction. Giving others pain and despair is what he wanted. So the best thing he could to was to simply not react to it.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he was so relieved to hear the sound magic of Kahono. There were a few moments where he didn't know what was going on. Pretty sure he had passed out for just a few minutes.
When he noticed his surroundings again, it was only to hear Kahono muttering a healing spell. Blood was seeping from her mouth, but she looked so sure that everything would be fine. It had to be, because there were people who still needed him, and he needed them too.
Lifting his head just a bit, he saw how Noelle was about to get hit. With the strength he had left right now, the teen rushed forward, slashing the magic but not daring to move his right arm.
"A-Asta?" Noelle muttered confused. "How are you still standing?"
"Kahono" he panted.
And she understood. Everything hurt so much, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. When Vanessa and Finral appeared, everything got just a bit easier. They helped him move around, being pulled through the portals that Finral created. Vanessa controlling his every move.
All he had to do was put his strength into every hit. He didn't even know how it happened. His movements were to fast for his senses to fully understand them. But at some poin he had managed to slash his sword into Vetto's left side. It was sticking there, blood trailing around the wound.
He grinned. For a moment it seemed like they were one step closer to winning.
"Huh?"
Until he felt a pain going through both of his arms. They started hurting equally. And this time it was so bad that he was screaming. Asta didn't know how to describe it, but it was a pain he had never felt before. Like a large stone had been slammed down onto both of his arms, crushing them underneath it.
He fell to his knees. Tears brimming in his eyes. He didn't allow them to fall though. Instead, he looked up at Vetto with more anger than he had ever felt before.
"Look around you" he hissed. "We're on the ground but none of us have ever looked at you in despair, have we?!"
Angered at the statement, Vetto was about to strike again, when Asta felt himself being dragged away once again. The man even pulled the sword out of his body himself.
"Enough fooling around! You will all fall into despair and die afterwards!" he yelled.
And suddenly Asta felt different. Maybe it was anger, maybe frustration. Whatever it was, it was running hot through his blood, and he had never felt better before. Like he was able to finally let his true power out.
The teen gripped his sword ightly, no matter how much it hurt. One last time! Picking up the pace, Asta gathered his strength for one last shot, bringing the sword down right in the center of his chest, finally knocking Vetto to the ground.
"And this time you stay down!" he hissed.
Turning around, Asta walked back over to his friends. There was no time to lose. Kahono probably had hurt if not destroyed vocal cords. And Kiato's leg, well…..
But no such thing. From the corner of his eye, he saw an orange light. Turing around he saw Vetto floating in midair, muttering something about despair. He looked like a bomb about to explode.
"Yeah yeah" a voice behind them said.
A large hand patted his head and he looked up. "Dad" he grinned.
Yami said nothing for a moment. Even while smoking, he inspected the wounds on his kid. He looked bored, just like always.
"Your mother is going to kill me for this" he muttered.
Asta laughed nervously. This time she really might do it. Both arms broken, cuts all over his body and he may have twisted his ankle. Oh! And there was a wound bleeding on his right side.
"Asta!"
The teen turned to Yuno. The taller teen immediately made sure to carry most of his weight while trying not to hurt his arms.
"No, this won't do" Yuno muttered.
"Mh? What was tha-Yuno!" Asta found himself being carried by the taller teen, bridal style.
He had to admit, right now with how much his body was hurting, it was quite comfortable. He was so tired his eyes were drifting shut now and then. He wasn't even focusing on what was happening anymore.
"I'll ruin your shirt" he muttered tiredly, noticing how the blood of his wounds were getting on the other's clothes.
"Doesn't matter" Yuno replied.
"You can go to sleep now, kid. You did good today."
And that was the last thing he head before falling asleep.
I don't really have much to say right now. There are not a lot of things left that match with the anime. Next logical thing would be the withces forest. It will come but a bit different. And after that I don't know myself yet. Let's see where the road takes us :)
