It was early in the morning when Yuno had grabbed his group companions to start searching. They had no time to waste. He, Mimosa, Liebe and Noelle were put in one group. And just like captain Vengeance had said, he was put in charge.

He didn't know where to start searching, where they could be. None of them even know what the plan of that devil was. He had no plan, no hints, and no ideas. The only thing he could do was searching and begging that they found something to lead them the right way.

Yuno was more than nervous as he eyed every inch of the terrain they were currently flying over. And it showed. The two cousins could feel it in his mana. Noelle even felt it in his Ki. She had long learned how to read Ki. Asta was kind enough to teach her.

It helped. It really did. Especially since she wasn't even able to control her own mana. Not at the time at least. She never imagined to find someone like him. It didn't take long for her to start developing feelings for him.

But after it became clear that he only had eyes for the wind mage, she backed down. Why should she chase after someone that was in a relationship? She wasn't like that. And there was no doubt in her mind that he would never stop loving Yuno. There was just something about them that seemed right. Perfect even.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to focus on her surroundings. They had been flying for hours already, and that didn't make it easier. Finding Asta by mana was impossible with him having none. Sensing Ki was hard though. Especially since she hadn't been doing it for that long. And the nervous wind mage threw her off even more.

"Would you please stop that?" she hissed. "Your nervous energy makes it hard to focus."

She didn't even bother to look up at the glare she received from the other teen. Favoring the view instead.

"You should be nervous too. We have no idea what's going to happen during the next days" he replied.

Noelle rolled her eyes, flipping her hair. "I am. But I know how to mask my Ki. I'm royalty after all."

"Actually, it's not really hard to tell. Yuno is just too focused on finding Asta to notice" Mimosa said.

The young Silva looked at her cousin with surprise. She had tried to mask her own feelings and was fairly certain that they didn't notice. But apparently, she wasn't as good at it as she thought.

"You both need to calm down" the plant mage sighed. "The situation is dire, I know, but nervousness and bickering won't get us anywhere."

"You're right" Yuno sighed. "I'm just worried. Who knows where they are or what's going on." He began pacing. "I don't even know if Asta is still alive. If they left the kingdom to go somewhere else. They could be anywhere. Even in the forest surrounding the witches territory or-"

"Yuno" Mimosa grabbed his shoulders, stopping him. "Asta is still alive. I know he is."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because the devil still needs him. Why else would he have changed him?" she smiled sadly.

"She's right" Noelle nodded. "Zagred wouldn't have kidnapped him just to kill him. That would make no sense. But I'm also not sure why he needs him.

"If I had to guess, then for fun" Liebe spoke for the first time that day. He was leaning over the edge of the wind arc Yuno had made to transport all of them. He turned his head slightly. "And to open the gates of hell."

"Didn't that already happen?" Mimosa asked.

"Yes" Liebe nodded, fully turning and leaning his back against the spell, arms crossed. "But only for a short time. The spell those guys used wasn't powerful enough to open the gates forever. And if Zagred wants to open them permanently then he has only one way of doing that." He explained.

"Which is?" Noelle raised an eyebrow, crossing her own arms.

"There is one place on this earth that is like the official way into the underworld. Like a gateway that has always existed and will always exist. You can't destroy it in a way that it doesn't exist anymore and nothing bad will happen. But one can destroy it and leave every devil free to do what they want" the devil shrugged.

"I see. But I can't imagine that it would be easy to do so" Mimosa said.

"It's not, usually" Liebe shook his head.

"And that's where Asta comes into play, right?" it didn't sound like a question as Yuno starred at the other.

"Yes" Liebe sighed. "The gateway is made of magic. A powerful magic that no devil can undo. Unless you undo the magic itself. There are only two people in the world that can do that. Asta…"

"And you" Noelle concluded.

The devil nodded. "Since we are more or less the same person, we have the same magic. But I don't need the swords to do it. Yet I wonder if Asta can learn to use anti-magic without the swords."

"Personally, I don't want to find out" Mimosa laughed nervously.

"Believe me, you don't" Liebe countered, raising a hand. Black magic began dancing in his hand like lightning.

"The swords can do so much to stop magic. Touching them blocks your own, but coming in contact with raw anti-magic can do much more damage. It's the opposite of life if you will. It kills, when strong enough. Pure destruction" he let the magic fade again.

"You sound like you tested that before" Yuno said.

"Only in theory. I'd never try it on a human. Maybe other devils" he shrugged.

"Wait a moment. You said that they have to find that gateway. That means we know where they're going" Noelle said.

"Yeah, but I don't know where it is. We'd have to find it ourselves. Or wait until a giant ray of pure darkness shoots into the sky" Liebe said.

Yuno frowned. This is not what he was hoping for. Knowing what they were searching for changed nothing if they didn't know where it was themselves. Then again, there was probably a reason that no one knew where the gates of hell were. No one could mess with it this way.

"I'm surprised that devils don't know where the gates are" Noelle said.

"We kinda do. But only from down there" Liebe pointed to the ground. "For us it would be the entrance to the human world.

"I see" the water mage hummed. "So there is a place in hell from where you can enter the human world. But due to the spell, they can't leave."

"Exactly" the devil nodded.

"Should I ask why you know that without ever having been in hell?" the Silva girl asked.

"I can't really explain it. I just know" he shrugged.

Yuno sighed. "Whatever. It's getting late. We should head back for today."

Indeed, Noelle thought. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. It was a beautiful sight as the sun came down. The trees creating a unique shadow on the ground that one could only see once a day. The colors of the rainbow washed over the sky.

The wind was picking up slightly, making her shiver. The water mage didn't think about brining anything warm for the trip. It was summer and usually warm. But the evening wind seemed to cool down the area rather quickly.

Looking over the horizon, Noelle began to wonder. The gates of hell. Where could they be and what would happen if they were destroyed? If the devils of the underworld had a chance to escape. She doubted that they were as friendly as Liebe was. But she could only guess.

"You're right" she sighed. "But we can't stop now. During the night it is harder to spot devils like them. Their skin is as dark as the night. I would guess that this is the perfect time for them to start searching. A time where no one will see them."

"That doesn't help though" Mimosa said with worry. "We won't be able to see them either."

"And tracking Asta doesn't help either. The only way we could track them would be through Ki, and I can't do that" Liebe shook his head.

"Maybe you can't, but I can" Noelle stated.

"You can? Since when?" Yuno asked.

"For a while now. Asta taught me. And even if I don't know what Zagred's Ki feels like, I know Asta's" the water mage replied.

"You could've said that earlier" Liebe grumbled.

Noelle huffed. "It doesn't help much if I can't feel him. He's too far away. Wherever they went, it must be really far away."

"Still, we should head back for today and report to the Captain's. If you feel something on the way, tell us. For now, getting some sleep will do us all good" the wind mage said.

The others nodded in agreement. There was only so much they could do while being exhausted. Maybe they didn't do that much today, but looking over the earth and concentrating on one thing could tire the mind. Taking a break was important.

The way back was quiet. Noelle saw Mimosa even falling asleep for a while. Two more hours passed when they finally reached the royal capital again. Heading towards the large meeting room, Noelle watched another group leave, having reported for the day.

All the Captain's were gathered around the large table. A map of their kingdom in front of them. Some spots were marked with a large X. Possibly the spots that have been thoroughly searched with no result. They were about to add a few more spots.

Liebe immediately went back to Charlotte to curl up in her lap. He seemed to love that place a lot recently.

"Nothing from you as well, I suppose?" William asked as he watched them enter with grim faces.

"No" Noelle shook her head. "Nothing."

Julius sighed as he marked their spots on the map as well. There were only a few spots left. Some at the sea, the witches forest. Hage. Yuno's home if she remembered right. And some more.

"We have covered a lot of spaces in only one day. That is good. But it also makes me wonder where they went even more" the wizard king sighed, leaning over the table.

"They have to be somewhere" Charlotte muttered, rubbing her sons back.

"No one can disappear like that. If it was magic, we would've known already" Jack said, leaning back in his chair.

"Indeed. There are only a few places left in the kingdom. After that, there are only the others left" Nozel nodded.

"And if we find them, we need a plan. A plan to help Asta" Yami said.

"Yes" Fuegoleon nodded in agreement. "There has to be a way to reverse the effect of the spell that Zagred used. If we only capture and separate them, I doubt that we will be able to prevent the disaster that will follow."

"Yeah, the kid has a hell of a power. He'll break out in no time" Mereoleona grinned.

"We know that the devil's blood has turned him this way, there must be a way to get it all out at once" Nozel turned towards his sister. "Maybe you can do that."

"Me?!" Noelle asked in shock. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"You have water magic Noelle. Maybe there is a possibility that you can manipulate his blood and separate his own from that of the devil."

Noelle blinked rapidly. How was she supposed to do that? Controlling her magic was hard enough. Doing something this complicated? No way.

"It could work" William nodded. "But as Liebe has already stated, we don't have much time. The longer it takes us, the harder it will get."

"I have water magic, not blood magic" the youngest Silva exclaimed. "Ask Vanessa's mother. She has blood magic."

"Noelle" Charlotte stood, leaving her son in her seat. She walked over to the water mage and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"I don't know Vanessa's mother. I don't know if I can trust her with my son. But I know you. And I know you have the power to do this. It is up to you to save Asta and humanity from the devil's threat."

She was nervous. More than nervous. It felt like the fate of the world had suddenly been placed on her shoulders. Whatever she would do during the next days, it would change everything. Everything was in her hands now.

Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed, she reopened them with a newfound passion and confidence. She nodded.

"Asta is the first person I was able to call my friend. The first person I could trust and the first one to believe in me" she briefly glanced at her brother who didn't dare to look back into her eyes. "And I will do everything in my power to bring that person back."

Charlotte smiled, nodding. She gave the teen a slight squeeze before letting go.

And for a second Noelle felt peaceful. Hopeful. Until Marx came bursting through the doors. She yelped, turning around with everyone else to face him.

"We have a problem."