The female devil's eyes bored into the eyes of Ephraius as her claws dug into the knight's gauntlets, digging into his wrists. "Tell me, human, what were you going to do to my child?" She asked, curse magic emanating from Megicula's fingertips.
His body shook with fear, his knees began to buckle. "A devil! An actual devil! Fuck! Play it cool Ephraius, keep it cool," the lone knight thought.
"I was going to make sure he was safe until your safe return," He lied. In truth, Ephraius intended to turn him in to the nearest church, but with a living, breathing devil now staring him down, he decided to play along. "I have no intention of fighting against you," Ephraius said with a nervous chuckle. "I'm sure you'd kill me."
Megicula gave an affirmative nod, releasing him from her grip as she floated down to Asta. "Are you hurt? Mom's here, come into my arms," Megicula said as she outstretched her arms. Asta ran into them, an expression of comfort overcoming the young boy. The mosaic on his arm began to glow slightly, catching the eye of the lone knight.
"So you've made a pact with the boy?" Ephraius asked.
"How do you know it's a pact?" Megicula asked.
"Because I was a mercenary who worked with the church's inquisition," he explained.
"Then why aren't you with them now?" Asta asked, looking into the eyes of the scarred man.
"Because they weren't paying me for the last three months of my employment," Ephraius said with a sigh. "Now I'm a vagrant knight."
"What will you do, knowing that I'm looking over a human child?" Megicula asked, flying around the man.
"Follow you two. You'll need help moving undetected from town to town. By the way, where did you find this boy?" Ephraius asked, looking into the curse devil's eyes.
"Well he was living in a human structure called a church-"
"You took him from a church?! Are you insane! That's going to activate a formal manhunt from the Inquisition's branch of the church! They'll have every town with a church in it looking for the boy!" Ephraius said.
"Surely not that many towns have church-"
"Yes! Yes they do! Any town with more than four buildings has a church! Its where messengers rest at night! Its almost always the building in the center of the town square! Its the lifeblood of commoners! And even worse, they talk! Oh they talk nonstop, so word will eventually spread about the grey-haired boy who was abducted by a devil!"
"She's not that bad!" Asta stomped his feet in protest.
"It doesn't matter! If they she's a devil then she'll be drowned in holy water and you'll be burned at the stake for accepting a pact with a devil!" He argued.
Asta ran over to Megicula, hugging her tights as tears began to well up under his eyes.
"Will this do?" Megicula asked as she changed her appearance. She gave the appearance of a tall regal woman who wore a white sundress and a large sun hat. She was well-endowed and had long, strait white hair, her eyes were a reddish brown color and she held herself in a very royal way.
Ephraius sighed. "You'll stick out a bit, but it's doable. As for you, boy, shoot your pure mana at me," he said.
"What's pure mana?" Megicula asked.
"Its the base of all magic, its from that which the magical elements derive. Think of it like this: pure mana is like the foundation of a house, your grimoire is the blueprints, and the elements are the materials, put them all together and you have modern magic," Ephraius explained.
"I don't get it," Asta said with a confused look on his face.
"Just forget it then, would you like to have some lunch?" he asked as he lit a flame in his palm.
"Yes!" Asta said with excitement. "What are we going to be eating?" he asked.
"Vegetable broth with chicken," he replied much to Asta's delight. "Would you like some, miss devil?" he asked, offering her a bowl.
"I have no need for sustenance," Megicula replied as she held Asta in her lap, the boy devouring his meal with something akin to blissful satisfaction. She pulled him into her bosom, the boy still slurping down his lunch.
"That's fine for now, when we're in the woods, away from people, but once Asta gets his disguise you'll have to eat like the rest of us," Ephraius said in between spoonfuls of his soup.
"Why is that?" Megicula asked as she gently massaged Asta's forehead as he rested his head on her chest.
"Because it's weird. A woman of your stature who doesn't eat? It'll make us stand out more," he explained. "But back to the matter at hand, where will we go?"
"Are there any places that would offer us shelter?" Megicula asked, Asta holding his empty bowl out for seconds.
"Yes, before I met the two of you I was heading to a small forest refuge. Its run by three families. One who owns a small farm, another which owns the store, and the third who owns the inn. They're good friends of mine, so don't go scaring them… what's your name?"
"Megicula," she replied.
"That's too strange, from now on, when you're in this disguise of yours you'll be called Viola, and Asta, your new name will be Amarus."
"But my name is Asta!" Asta declared with a pout.
"Yes, but if you're found out to be Asta, then your mother will be killed, do you understand?" Ephraius said sternly.
"Yes…" he said, burying his face into Megicula's chest, tearing up a bit.
"Don't worry, if you follow my instructions your mother will be safe, now lets get moving," Ephraius said as he began to pack up his things, putting him helmet back on.
Yuno had never seen so many people of the church before. The soldiers wore metal armor with leather draped over it with a hand holding a torch. The bishops wore red robes and the priests wore white.
"Ah Sister Lily, it's been a while!" one of the bishops said, gently shaking her hand.
"Bishop Borus! I hope the lord is within your dreams," Sister Lily said with a smile.
"As I hope he is in yours. Lets go into the church, I'd like to discuss the events of yesterday morning with you and father Orfai," Bishop Borus said as the other bishops and priests followed behind him. The soldiers set up around the church. Setting up tents and defensive positions.
"Who are you?" Nash asked as he walked up to a soldier.
"We are the holy forces of the Inquisition. There was a supposed sighting of a devil and so we were called to start an investigation, did you happen to know the child who was taken?" the soldier asked.
"Yes, I was his best friend," Yuno said, a few tears welling up under his eyes. He promised Asta that he wouldn't cry anymore, but this would be his one exception. "And I promise I'll find him and bring him back to the village!" Yuno declared.
"Well that's a very admirable thing to do, but you'll have to be strong to do that!" The soldier said with a smile and a thumbs up. If you like I could put in a good word for you to Bishop Borus," the man said.
"You'd do that? For me?" Yuno asked in disbelief.
"Of course! You seem like a kid with a good heart and kind soul."
At just that moment Bishop Borus and Sister Lily came walking out of the church. "Thank you Sister, we will do our absolute best to find this child."
Yuno poked the bishop in his leg to get his attention, his bravery swelling up within him.
"Yuno! Don't disturb the Bishop!" Sister Lily said, shooing him away.
"Wait, Sister, I wish to hear him out."
"Ok, Yuno, tell him what you need to then I think its time for you to take a nap."
"Mr. Borus, I want to help find my friend… by joining the Inquisition!"
"I accept your offer!" Bishop Borus said with outstretched arms.
AN: Hello! Thank you all for leaving the kind reviews, and while chapters may not be out in a speedy fashion, I will do my best to make sure they are of high quality and enjoyable for you all to read. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Yuno's joining the Inquisition and Asta now has a father figure! The only question is… how does this affect Noelle? Since Megicula isn't with Vanica, it mean Acier is alive and kicking!
Thanks and until next time, Have a nice day!