Chapter 5

A star shines above the water.

Carefully and quietly, Asta made his way into what was called the chasm. It was a vast area, with the gaping hold in the center giving an ominous feel to it. In the cover of night, the black bull knew he had to be careful. Not for any sneak attack, for he knew that his ki covered any potential attacks, but for the killers moving away after hearing him. He looked around and could see what looked to be some type of equipment. It was huge with pieces of metal, chains, and rope.

Asta had no idea what to make of this, he wondered what it was used for. It looked like it was used to move heavy objects if he had to guess. One thing Asta can tell from looking at it is that it's been abandoned, and rust and damage were all over it. Actually, now that he got a better look at the surrounding area the young knight could see several buildings, all severely damaged.

Just what was this place?

Either way, now was not the time.

He needed to focus, stay silent and keep his ki sharp. He need to feel for anything that felt human, something that was moving. He kept moving around the area trying to find…there!

Ki! He sensed a ki that feels human! Not wanting to be careless, Asta began to move towards the source of ki he felt. He traversed the hills with great ease, using his physical strength to jump down from great heights with no damage. He and Liebe finally made their way to a run-down shack that was damaged beyond repair. There was no one standing guard outside, but he could feel multiple ki's coming from inside the run-down shack. Thankfully the black bull could easily peek inside and see what was going on.

He saw several people. Three of them were tied up and shaken, one wore an outfit that was similar to Kathryne and Lan. Whoever that person is must be part of the Adventure's guild, if Asta had to guess. Now around them, were 5 men dressed in filthy-looking clothes. They had clothes covering their faces along with hoods. They were looking to be talking about something but Asta was too far away to make out what exactly they were saying.

This definitely looks like a hostage situation. Not the first time Asta's has had to deal with something like this. The plan was simple, jump in between the hostages and the criminals. If any of them possessed any magic or visions and decided to attack the hostages Asta will fire it right back at them using his demon slayer sword.

He jumped down and landed just like he had planned, between the hostages and the group of men. Everyone seemed surprised at this, before anyone could make a reaction the young knight made a blitz toward the group of men before him. They tried to pull out their weapons but one hefty swing with his giant sword was enough to take out 3 of them as they were clustered together. He bashed his large sword into their sides, crashing them to the poor wall. So inferior was the wall that they crashed right through it and landed outside. 2 left, and Asta pulled out the demon dweller and bashed the other 2 in quick rapid strikes.

And just like that, all 5 of them were down.

Asta placed his swords back in his grimoire and made his way to the hostages.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked. As he got a better look at them he could see that it was 1 man and 2 women who were being held up. "Hold on, I'll free you guys up in a second." After removing their ropes and binds, the 3 hostages were able to get their bearings together and rise up from the floor.

"Oh, thank Morax you came to save us. I thought we were done for." Said the man.

"You're welcome, My name is Asta and this is Liebe."

Liebe gave a small wave as his brother introduced him.

"Thank you, I'm not sure where you came from but we really appreciate you. My name is Khedive and these two are my companions, Jinwu and Zhiqiong." Said Khedive as he pointed to the 2 females behind him. Zhiqiong was the one dressed in the adventure's guild. Both of the 2 women also voiced their thanks to Asta.

"I'm from the Adventure's guild. I'm doing a commission that lead me here but was turned away by the guards. I was heading back when I saw that they were…they were killed."

The 3 that Asta saved had a horrified reaction upon hearing that.

"I was trying to see if I could find who caused it, glad I did otherwise I might not have been able to help you guys."

"They're dead?" Jinwu, a woman with short blue hair wearing an equally blue outfit, said as she looked at Asta in disbelief.

"I'm sorry." The black bull said first and foremost. "I don't know if these were the guys that did that. Can you tell me why they were holding you guys hostage?"

"We're not sure." Said Zhiqiong, the woman from the adventure's guild. "We're here in regards to the chasm. Our work has been approved through a joint agreement between the adventure's guild and the Liyue Qxing. We don't have anything of value."

Asta simply nodded and went to examine the criminals that were all on the floor. The 3 individuals he saved followed closely behind him. The young knight began to search their bodies.

"They're not bleeding? Didn't you hit them with your sword?" asked one of the females.

"Yeah, it's uh a long story."

In truth, with the exception of his katana, Asta's swords are essentially dull blades. With the exception of magic, Asta can not cut someone so easily as his blades are not sharp. He could cut someone if he put in enough strength or if he trusted the sword using the pointed tip. It's as if he's wielding large clubs of iron. That is why the criminal had no cuts on their bodies, though they definitely have a broken bone or two with the way the young knight hit them.

"No pyro magic…" Asta was looking for a pendant similar to what Shenhe showed him. One that was pyro, yet there was nothing there. None of these criminals had anything to look to be a bomb or flammable, which meant that these couldn't have been to ones who killed the guards.

The black bull turned his attention back to the 3 behind him.

"Is there anyone else in the area?" If there were any more hostages Asta would need to prioritize getting them out of there.

"No, thankfully. Exploration in the chasm has just begun. Right now it's just us 3 surveying the land." Said the female adventurer.

"Ok, I'm going to lead you back to the entrance so you guys can get to safety. Follow us."

True to his word, Asta and Liebe lead the two back to the top. Making sure the coast was clear and no other threats were around. As he led the group back to the entrance their eyes fell on the deceased bodies of the guards. He couldn't offer much aside from an apology. The 3 thanked Asta for his helped and promised to alert the guards once they arrived back to safety in Liyue Harbor.

With them taken care of, Asta made his way back to the destroyed home where those guards were at. They were still unconscious when they left but who knows how long that would last. It was possible they were already up and making their escape. Riding his sword, the young king beelined it to the destination. He made it there in quick time and was ready to demand answers on who they were and what they knew about the murders.

And if they've found a sword lying around…

As Asta entered back into the building he was met with a big surprise. That being the criminals tied and still unconscious.

"What?" asked the young knight. While he was glad that no one escaped he knew they were not tied up before he left. He had nothing to tie them up with! Asta got closer and as he did the black bull could see that these criminals were all bundled together with what looked to be a thick blue rope. He touched it and it felt like he was touching the water.

Water magic?

Asta pulled out his Katana and focused on ki around him.

Gotcha

Just like that, he felt the ki of a living person. Whoever they were might be using some type of water magic to hide but it didn't matter to Asta. This person might be able to hide their appearance but they can't hide their ki.

"Hey!" He yelled out while pointing his sword exactly where the person is hiding at. "I know you're there! Did you tie these people up?! If so I would like to thank you! My name is Asta, I'm with the adventure's guild!"

He waited and waited all while pointedly staring at where he knew where this person was hiding at.

His patience was rewarded when someone did appear out of nowhere, a watery blue light dispersed as they did so. It was a woman, standing taller than Asta (no surprise), who looked to be around Shenhe's height. She had short deep blue hair and was wearing a matching deep blue and black outfit. She had a white coat that seemed to hug and stay on her shoulders, resembling a cape. She also had multiple bracelets around her arms, earrings, and finally, a vision hanging from her side that shined blue like the sea.

"Well now. I didn't expect to be found at all. Mind telling me how you did that?" Asked the unknown woman as she made her way toward the unconscious criminals.

The reason why was because of Asta's ability to sense ki. This person uses their water magic to somehow make themself invisible. She may be able to disguise her body but you can't hide your ki. Of course, the black bull was not going to tell her that. Putting away his sword and becoming more relaxed the young man hoped he could get some answers from this unknown woman.

"I can't, I'm sorry." He answered genuinely.

She blinked in surprise at the response before quickly regaining her mysterious composure.

"Ah well, that's fine. You came at just the right time. I saw what happened back at the entrance, two Millith soldiers dead with burn marks scattered on their bodies. I go up ahead to investigate only to see a short man with an odd-looking companion flying around his shoulders. You wouldn't happen to know anything about those 2 soldiers, would you?"

It was obvious that this woman was implying that both Asta and Liebe had a hand with the fate of those guards.

Asta, being Asta, reacted in his typical response.

"Hey! I don't know who you are lady but first of all, who are you calling short?! Second, Liebe and I had nothing to do with that! In fact, we're here trying to find the ones who did that!"

She pretends to ponder on it.

"Hmmm, the funny thing is I don't believe you. You say you're from the Adventure's guild yet I don't recognize you at all."

"We started today." Said Asta.

"How convenient." Replied the woman.

At this point, she was starting to get on Asta's nerves, and that is when Liebe stepped in.

"I can't blame you for suspecting us, we're not from here and this is our first job. That's suspicious as hell. That being said, how do Asta or I know your not to do with any of this?"

Liebe pointed to his brother.

"This idiot has a license, at least something that proves we're with the Adventurer's guild. You have yet to give your name, or even who you're with. How do we know you weren't planning to kill these guys before we came back with any answers?" Liebe asked cooly as his brother cheered him on from the background.

"Hmm, cute. Trying to turn the questions on me. That's now how this works. I need answers, and you're going to give the to me." She extended his arm towards Asta, who could tell with his ki that things were going to get rough, and fired what looked to be several strings made of water right at him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Argh, c'mon we don't have to do this!" Complained the young knight as he readied his katana and slashed the water strings, immediately erasing them as he did.

The woman paused at this, unsure of what just happened.

"Hey! Look I'm not your enemy! I know I don't have much to prove it but it was us who attacked those guards! Miss, they have burn marks, I don't have any fire magic! Or magic in general!"

"You could have used an explosive." She said as she materialized a bow into her hands. She pulled out on the bowstring and Asta watched as water began to form itself into an arrow before she fired it right at him. It was fast but the young knight was much faster. Pulling out his demon slasher katana the young man began to slash at the water arrows, erasing them completely.

The unknown woman scowled at this. She began to fire them at a much faster rate, and hAsta responded back by increasing his strikes as well.

"Miss, this really isn't the time to be fighting! The killers are escaping!"

"Really? He doesn't seem to be getting away from what I'm seeing." The unknown began to switch her attacks. She began to fire her arrows sporadically around her, no longer aiming at Asta. The young knight was confused at first only to see that the water arrows changed their trajectory and began to home in on him.

It's too cramped in here. He thought to himself.

Making a mad dash to the door Asta kicked it down with relative ease as he made his way outside in the open space. With more room now to maneuver he pulled his demon dweller sword and began to skillfully erase every single arrow that was fired at him. Despite the erratic trajectory these water arrows moved, it was no match for Asta's ki sensing and sword skills.

"Are you ready to hear me out now!?" Unfortunately, he saw that she was no longer there. Invisible then, she must be trying to either escape or do a sneak attack. He closed his eyes and focused on the ki around him. The unknown woman can hide her body but she can't hide her ki. He got a lock on it, looked to his right, and made a quick dash in that direction. He put away his katana but kept his dweller sword ready in his other hand.

"Got you!" With one free hand, he extended and grabbed the unknown woman by the shoulder and pinned her to the ground. He then straddled her and pressed the dweller sword right onto her stomach.

"You found me again, how? And what is this feeling? I can't use my vision." She sounded weak but that was no surprise for Asta.

The demon dweller's sword drained the magic of anyone who touched it, thereby weakening them. Asta has no magic so he was not affected by the effects of the sword at all. The young knight wondered how the sword would affect the magic wielders in this land. He looked at the vision pendant that was hanging from her side and could see that the blue light had become dim. It looked like it worked the same here. So long as the dweller sword was touching her in some way she can't use her vision.

"Are you willing to talk now?" Asta asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. "

She shot him a skeptical look.

"Wouldn't you rather just kill me?"

"What is with you and killing?" Asta was getting frustrated with this woman. "I don't know what else I need to do to prove it to you, We weren't the ones who attacked those guards. My name is Asta and this is my brother Liebe. We're with the Adventure's guild, we're doing a commission to locate a lost sword. We got a tip that some thieves might have brought it here."

Liebe appeared from Asta's shoulder.

"Earlier, those men you have tied up, they had three hostages. One was named Zhiqiong, she's in the Adventure's guild too. We escorted them to the entrance and they should be heading back to Liyue Harbor. If you really don't trust us, we can head there now and get their side of the story."

The unknown woman shot them a skeptical look. At this point, Asta felt no need to pin her down. He slowly got off her and removed his weapon, as he did the vision pendant went back to its normal color. The unknown woman sighed once Asta got off her, she too picked herself up off the ground. She then looked toward the young knight and had a stare down at him.

"What did you do? I've never felt something like that before. I could feel my vision, my elemental powers leaving me." Her eyes trailed down to Asta's sword. The young knight didn't answer her question, since this woman was keen on keeping secrets he had no obligation to her his secrets. "It has to do with your sword doesn't it?"

The two just shot her a blank look.

"Ok…so now I'm getting the silent treatment. Well…If you are with the Adventure's guild then you should know this is not your jurisdiction. Your job is to handle the commissions given to you, not pursue criminals."

Asta and Liebe didn't say anything, they just gave her a blank stare.

At this point, the woman in blue was starting to get a bit frustrated with these two idiots.

"What I'm saying is, you should go home then."

"Nope!" Asta finally said with a straight face. Having enough of her attitude the young knight began to head back to the room where the criminals were tied up.

"H-Hey where do you think you're going?"

The unknown woman moved right in front of him, clearly upset at his response.

"I'm going to ask those criminals a couple of questions."

"And I'm telling you that is not your job. I will handle it from here on out."

Asta and Liebe gave the unknown woman a skeptical look and proceeded to cross their arms.

"Oh, and how do we know to trust this to you?" asked Liebe.

"That's right! We have proof of who we're with, what about you miss!? We don't even know your name." Stated Asta.

"I'm not giving my name out to a shorty and his…whatever you are."

"Hey!" said the brothers.

"Why are you so interested in carrying this out? As I said before, you're part of the adventure's guild, this is not your responsibility."

Asta said nothing in response, at this point he's already made it clear that he isn't budging from this case and will not leave it in the hands of an unknown woman. Two people are dead, and that angers the young knight. Life was something precious and taking it should be a last resort. Whoever it was that killed those two soldiers, as a magic knight, it was Asta's duty to help in some way.

Finally, the unknown woman sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Not going to try to tussle with you again anyways. At the very least, you don't seem like a good liar, and your license is proof of your affiliation. You can call me Yelan, I'll let you help me on one condition."

"What is it?"

"When this is over, you head over to me to Liyue Harbor to confirm that you are who you say you are. Deal?" She extended her arm towards Asta.

"Deal." He said, shaking her arm. Her ki had no ill feelings to it, so for now the black bull felt it was okay to trust her.

"C'mon then, they might have woken up then. Let me handle the interrogation, it's my specialty."

She wasn't kidding.

Asta watched in the background as Yelan began to work her magic. The criminals had already woken up by the time Yelan and Asta had gotten back inside the room. They went dead silent and shot the two of them nasty looks. The black bull thought it was going to be hard to get some answers but that wasn't the case once Yelan started talking to them.

"We already told you, we had nothing to do with the Millieth guards!" Said one of the theives as he squirmed in fear.

"Oh? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind telling us who it was then?"

They all went dead silent.

"Don't feel like talking? That's fine, my friend over there worked you over well before I got here. I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing so again, isn't that right?"

Liebe gave a discreet nudge to Asta, telling him to play the part.

The young man did as requested and pulled out the demon slayer sword, hoping that its large side would intimidate them. Asta then walked towards them slowly all while raising the sword in the air ready to swing down on them.

"Go ahead and do it then!" cried out one of the criminals.

Asta stopped upon hearing the desperation in his voice. He shot a glance to Yelan, who bore a troubled expression.

"You still wouldn't talk then? Who is it that you're answering for? Is it the abyss? Or..the Fatui?"

Abyss? Fatui? Asta didn't know what either of those words meant. But as he watched Yelan say those words he could see the expressions of the criminals drop upon mentioning them. They were now shaking in their boots.

"I see…" she said. "It seems you do know something but just don't want to spill it. Is the information worth more than your lives? Once the Millieth come here and get a hold of you…well, Liyue's criminal system can be rough for these reasons. There's also the rite of descension that is coming in about 2 weeks. What would Rex Lapis think when two of his citizens were killed by-"

"Stop! We'll talk!" Shouted one of the criminals. "We truly don't know who are benefactors are, they didn't reveal to us their identities they just handed us the money. But I know that they're looking for something inside the chasm, they specifically paid us to clear any obstacles or people that were in the chasm today. That's all we know!"

The chasm? Again another word that Asta didn't know. Looking at the troubled expression on Yelan, it seemed like she did. For now, all he had to do was-

Wait, where did that ki come from!?

Asta turned towards the door only to see a figure standing there with a bow in their hands. The staff formed a large water arrow coming right at Yelan and the criminals. No time to lose, the young knight had his demon slayer sword ready. He got in front of Ms. Yelan and, using the flat side of his blade hit and reflected the large ball of fire right into the air. The ball exploded into a watery explosion and made a noise so loud that Asta was sure that people back at the harbor could hear it.

"What!?" Shouted Yelan. Trying to catch up to what she had just witnessed.

The young knight didn't have much for an answer either. He charged forward at the mysterious figure and tried to take a swipe at him. Didn't do much good as electricity appeared beneath the attacker's feet and launched him into the air. Hydro vision and electro vision, Asta wasn't much for gambling but he's willing to bet he just met the person responsible for the deaths of those soldiers.

That means there should be at least a second person somewhere around here. The young knight would love to try to find them but he was currently dodging strings of arrows from above.

"Hey get down here you jerk!" He was just about ride up into the air to catch up when he saw streams of water arrows firing from Yelan.

"Sneak attack, they're trying to kill the prisoners before we get any more info. He's using a hydro vision, and combing it with electro to keep our unwanted quest afloat. Which means they must be a second person somewhere helping. You found me, can you find them?"

"Got it!" The black bull wasn't going to question, for right now she seems to trust him. He barraged back into the hut where the prisoners were being held. They were scared but alive. The young knight kept focusing, concentrating, trying to feel for another foreign ki.

This just went from annoying to awful.

First, Yelan meets a young man whose way is over his head. Then she tries to get the drop on him and acquire more info only to be discovered somehow. Then when it was time to fight she thought that by relining on her wits and vision she would be able to subdue him. Only for him to find her yet again and pin her down with some weird-looking sword. She thought this was the end but it wasn't. She was then released and now Yelan is having to deal with a short stubborn member of the adventure's guild. Now here she is, fighting a hooded figure with no leads, no answers and so many questions. At the very least, she was able to get that loud rookie away from the fight. She knew that there weren't any other attackers in the area but it Asta didn't know that. No way was Yelan going to trust someone like that to watch her back. He was gullible and that was all she needed to work with.

Now she can focus on dealing with the intruder before her.

She used her vision to move swiftly like water, obscuring her presence. Thankfully this mysterious figure wasn't able to locate her as Asta did. She needs to play this fight out carefully. Direct confrontation wasn't her strong suit. Yelan did not possess the physical fortitude for long fights, her constitution was weak due to her genetics. Thankfully her unwanted guest seemed to keep on staying in the air, getting a bird's eye view of the whole thing. It stopped firing and was now simply waiting.

Time to take a chance. Strings of water appeared around her and began to swarm her opponent. She began to fire rapidly at the mysterious figure. She was pulling her string back and firing arrow after arrow. As the arrows fired into the air they split into several strands of water and began to home in on Yelan's prey. She thought she had him only to see her opponent use blink.

Blink is a technique that electro-wilders can use where they teleport from one distance to another. He teleported away, and without a mark, the arrows began to scatter aimlessly.

"There you are."

Yelan heard a voice behind her. It had the be the attacker, he must have found her by judging where the arrow was fired. She tried to turn around so she can think of a counterattack only to see a bow and arrow aimed right at her face.

Who is this person? How are they wielding two visions at the same time? It must be…

"Delusion." She said.

"Now I hate to do this." The assaulter spoke, a distorted voice but Yelan could make out a male sound. "But if you don't walk away I'm going to half to kill you. I only came here to kill our loose ends."

"Did you kill those men at the gate?"

"What part of what I just said gave you the impression that I was going to answer any questions? Be smart. Leave, now."

She couldn't, she wouldn't.

She used her vision yet again, making herself invisible.

"This again." The disappointment was evident in the attacker's tone.

Yelan paid him no mind. She fired multiple shots moving as erratically as she possibly could. The hooded assailant made no attempt to dodge. He freed his hands of the bow and used his water vision to create two hydro swords. He then masterfully deflected each one of Yelan's shots. It wasn't just a bow this guy was good with, his skills with a sword were even better.

Unfountatly for Yelan her attacker rushed at her, using his hydro vision to move at an alarming speed toward her. Once again, while she was still invisible, her shots gave away her position. She tried to move away but was bested in both skill and speed. He caught up to her and gave two large strikes with his hydro swords. Strikes that were able to hit the mark. Yelan fell to the floor, out of breath, and greatly injured. There were two gashes, one on her right arm and one on her left leg. She wanted to cry out in pain but gritted her teeth instead.

This isn't good, her attacker knew what he was doing. He didn't slash out randomly. With one arm gone, she couldn't use her bow and with one of her legs out she couldn't run anymore.

Was this it? This was a dangerous game she was in, which comes with the line of work that Yelan does. But is this really where she meets her end? Her attacker gave no final words, he simply swung his sword down to Yelan who could only close her eyes and brace for the final blow.

A final blow that never came?

"Wha-"

She opened her eyes only to see Asta standing between her and the hooded figure.

"Asta?" She couldn't believe it. She thought she was done for and that the kid had simply left.

"Hey!" He turned towards her, a reassuring smile plastered on his face. "Sorry about that, I couldn't find anyone else. So I came back as fast as I could."

Unbelievable. He didn't know that she tricked him, and he came back to save her. What a complete…

"You're an idiot you know that?" She said bluntly.

"Hey! What was that for!"

She chuckled at his response. What an honest and pure-hearted fool she had run into.

"Thanks for the save, Asta." She said honestly.

"No problem!" Asta then turned to face that hooded figure. "Now, just leave him to me."

His ki was dangerous, whoever this guy was. If Asta was being honest, the ki he felt reminded him of Luck.

Luck is one of Asta's teammates back with the black bulls. A good friend who is a complete battle junkie, always looking forward to fighting strong opponents and getting disappointed if they turned out to be weak.

And right now, sensing the ki of the guy who attacked Yelan. Asta could tell that this man was excited about what was about to happen.

"I gave her the option to just run while I dealt with loose ends but she refused. You seem strong, so I won't give you the same choice I gave her. Don't disappoint me." He brandished his two hydro swords once again and came rushing at the young knight. Asta, in a quick motion, pulled out his demon dweller sword. The black bull decided to meet the attacker head-on and charged right at him. As the two got closer Asta leaped into the air and raised his sword for an overheard strike. The hooded attacker made no attempt at dodging. He simply raised his two hydro swords above him, wanting instead to block the attack in a contest of strength.

Imagine the attackers surprised when his hydro swords completely dissolved the moment Asta's anti-magic katana made contact with it.

"Wha-" Was all the attacker was able to say before the strike connected right across his chest. Asta couldn't see the man's expression but he was willing to bet it was a shocked one. The black bull landed on his feet and tried to do a follow-up strike. His opponent used his hydro vision to increase his speed and began to dash away from Asta. It didn't matter, the black bull may not have any magic but his strength was beyond that of a regular person. Using the muscles in his legs he ran right at his opponent and caught up to him in a very short time.

"Gotcha!" Again, with just the swing of his sword, the young knight was able to tag his opponent right in the abdomen and send him crashing to the floor. It didn't matter if he was using his hydro vision to make himself harder to hit, the moment Asta's demon dweller sword connected it forced the figure back to normal. "Are you ready to surrender yet? You got a lot to answer for!"

Asta wasn't going to give his opponent time to breathe. Ms. Yelan needed to see a doctor, did this place have any healers with their visions?

"*Cough!* Y-You're not what I was expecting. Just how are you able to do that?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you jerk!"

Asta pressed on the attack, only this time he pulled out his demon slasher Katana. Using both swords the young knight began to fire slashes of anti-magic energy at his opponent. The hooded figure respond in a similar manner and began to fire hydro slashes right back at Asta. As anti-magic and hydro made contact it was to Asta's satisfaction when he saw his anti-magic slashes cut through the hydro and pushed forward toward the opponent. It was too late for him to make an escape and could only take the brute of the attacks that came at him.

The young knight paused in his advancement, waiting instead for the dust to clear out while keeping focused on any changes in his opponents' ki. Asta's eyes widen as lightning flashed at him, his body moved almost instantly and cut through the purple lightning with his katana. Cutting lightning was nothing compared the light-speed attacks he had to deal with when dealing with the eye of the midnight sun back home.

"Seriously!" His opponent was starting to get frustrated and also still excited. "You, my comrade, are something else. My visions seem to have no effect on you! I've never fought someone like you before. May I have your name?"

"Why should I give my name to a jerk like you!?" He shouted. Asta was not going to be fooled but this man's praise. This person might be responsible for the guards back at the gate and almost killed Ms. Yelan for no reason.

"For what it's worth, I dislike this type of work but it must be done. I hope to fight you under better conditions but for now, I have a job that I must complete." The hooded figure used his electric vision to teleport to a higher level. He then pulled out his bow and aimed, not at Asta, but at Yelan. He released the string and what came was, not an arrow, but a huge whale made completely of a condensed hydro element.

Asta's eyes widen in shock, not expecting his opponent to pull out something like that so fast. He ran to Miss Yelan, who was still too injured to move. He put away both his dweller and katana and pulled out his demon slayer great sword. Getting in front of Ms. Yelan, Asta planted his feet, gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and with a great yell swung straight down at the whale dead center and sliced it in two.

Ms. Yelan stood in the back, a bit in awe.

"Is that all you jerk!" Asta shouted.

"Not at all."

The hooded figure then fired a second whale, this one much bigger than the last.

Asta, however, was not worried in the slightest. Turning his sword so that the flat surface faced the whale the young knight once again hit the attack dead center. Only this time instead of slicing the water itself he reflected it back at his attacker even strong and faster than before. An explosion of water soon came to where the hooded figure was standing at. Once all the water settled, everyone looked to see if the attacker had been hit.

There was a huge crater that the whale left, but nobody.

"Interesting, very interesting." That was because the attack blinked out of the attack. Seems he was fast enough to avoid that giant whale even when it was fired at twice the speed. This guy is strong, Asta can see that clearly.

"You're able to cut through my vision and even deflect my attacks. I don't see a vision in you. How are you doing this?"

"Yeah, like I'm gonna tell you! Anyways, who do you think you are?! Asking questions!?" Asta yelled out. "What kind of jerk attacks people from behind? Coward! Also, did you have anything to do with those guards!? And what did you do to Ms. Yelan!?"

"So many questions…" chuckled the hooded figure. "If you beat me, I'll tell you. Your turning out to be a fun opp-"

Both the masked individual and Asta became dead silent when the sound of an explosion came from the side. They both turned only to see that the shack that held the suspected individuals burst into flames.

"What." The young knight said in shock. "Where did that…" He turned to his opponent only to see him leaving. "HEY!" he yelled out. "Get back here! We're not done yet!" Asta yelled out in anger. His voice so loud it wasn't drowned out by the flames at all.

"Sorry…I would like to fight more but it's time for me to go…"

Did he…sound angry?

"You were a fun opponent, don't die on me now. If I'm lucky I'll get to fight you again."

With that, the unknown figure flew away using his hydro vision. Asta, furious at this, could have gone to chase him but knew there was someone else who needed his help. The young knight turned to see Ms. Yelan on the ground.

"H-Hey there…"

She sounds weak.

"That was some fight you put up…"

"Ms. Yelan! Hold on!" Asta picked her up bridal style.

"Hey? What are you…"

"We have to get you to a doctor, fast!

"Hold on, what about the people in the shack…we have to…"

"They're gone." Asta tried to sense their ki and nothing came up. Criminals may have been, but for them to be treated that way. It made Asta's blood boil, whoever did that had no right. But chasing after the attacker in anger would solve nothing. "We're going to get you to a doctor."

"You just met me, and yet you risked your life for me and now here you are trying to save me when you could be attacked any second now. Why?"

Asta didn't say anything, he didn't have time. He got on top of his large sword and began to fly as fast as he can. He needed to Yelan to a doctor before it was too late.

The hooded figure made it to the top of the mountain above the chasm. He saw the young man, riding his sword? With the woman that he injured in the young man's arms. He had to calm himself down. The fight was incredible, he felt alive, and he felt a rush! What a strange opponent, it was like his vision was useless! It forced him to fight differently, to strategize differently!

"Wipe that smirk off your face, seeing you get joyful over a fight is childish."

And like that, the joy was sapped away. He turned to see a female figure approaching him. An air of arrogance and superiority followed her with each step. He could feel his stomach start to churn just from hearing her voice.

"I didn't need your help."

"Are you sure? Because it looked like you were struggling with that boy."

"I had it under control. But if you're so dissatisfied with it, next time do your own dirty work."

"Now, now. No need for hostility. You were able to let loose for a bit and have some fun shouldn't you be thanking me?" The arrogance in her voice made his temper rise.

"Whatever. Aren't you supposed to be in Mondstadt?"

"I'm already finished there, we have the gnosis. The rodent ruler didn't put much of a fight."

"So then leave, I have things handled here."

"Two Harbingers are better the one, Childe."

"Not if one Harbinger sets fire to their allies." The man named Childe spat out.

"A necessar sacrifice, they played their part. Cause chaos and disruption as the rite of parting approaches. Cracks here and there will cause the whole thing to come crawling down."

"It sickes me how you treat them as expendable."

"Oh don't act like your some good boy. You've spilled blood to Child. Remind me, does your family back home know what you really do."

The glare that Childe shot her was amusing to the woman but she relented from going any further. She knew how touchy of a subject his family is.

"By the way, about that boy you faced."

"No." He shut her down fast. "I don't know how he was able to slice through my vision, and I didn't do anything to reveal my identity."

"You showed your delusion."

"Those aren't hard to come by, any fool can pay to get their hands on one."

"I know, I'm looking at one now."

For just a moment, it looked like a fight was about to break out between to two.

"Enough, I don't have time to deal with you. Lead the way. I'll follow at a distance."

The man named Childe did just as he said. Keeping his distance from this thing called a woman.

The two walked away from the chasm as the sound of flames and the smell of burning flesh and smoke filled the air.

He was able to find a doctor, and Ms. Yelan was still coherent enough that she was able to guide him where to go. She didn't seem concerned about how they were flying through the air on a sword. Asta knew that Ganyu told him to keep certain things quiet, like his arm, but he didn't have a choice. Her wounds were deep, she was able to clean them using her vision but it did nothing to stop the bleeding.

There was a bit of an uproar when Asta came in through the doors. He wasn't very discreet. It was only thanks to Yelan, who explained to the doctor what happened, was he able to get some help. She was taken to a room, one that Asta wasn't allowed to go in. So now he was outside sitting on the stone steps of Liyue. His mind racing from everything that occurred today.

"Asta?" His brother called out to him, anyone could see that he was very angry right now.

The young knight did his best to keep it under control, letting his emotions run wild with anger would do nothing for him. He needs to keep a cool head. It's just…seeing that shack be burned up without a second thought. Feeling their ki's be snuffed out. Life was precious in the eyes of Asta, and anyone who could take it away so carelessly angers him.

Liebe said nothing, he knew that right now his brother just needed some time to cool off. So he rested on Asta's shoulder, telling his brother that he was right here besides him.

Asta appreciated that.

They looked up over the moon, it was well into the night and many people had gone to their homes to sleep. Speaking of which, Asta and Liebe don't have a place to stay. They weren't able to complete the commission and will need to tell Kathryn that in the morning. The young knight could only sigh in defeat. He needed to stay hopeful, but it was a bit hard with everything that just happened.

"Asta?"

A female voice, and a familiar one at that. Lady Ganyu stood before Asta concern written all over her face.

"I heard reports of someone caring an injured woman while riding a sword. I came here because I had a feeling it was you." She moved towards Asta and sat close to him.

"What happened?"

With his voice loud as ever and his energy given a boost from seeing a familiar face, Asta began to tell Ganyu all that happened today.

End Chapter.

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