Akame ga Clover

by stringdog

Death is the end…or is it? Reborn in a new world where magic is everything by Fate itself to counter a threat that violated the laws of nature Akame and Tatsumi must first regain their memories of their past live and then fight to protect the Clover Kingdom from the threats that it will face but who will accept people like them? The Black Bulls of course.

30. Chapter 30: Dark

Here is the thirtieth chapter in this story released when I wanted it to be released based of my release process for this series. The duels between Akame and Kurome and Tatsumi and Seryu rage on but because of them and their little chat before, Patry had recovered and tried to kill Asta. However, a new party has joined the fight and he's the perfect counter to Patry as the Clover Kingdom's version of Light v. Dark is now at hand only in a bit of reverse from what you'd usually expect when a force of light and a force of dark clash with each other. That is all that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response, though I thank you for your support of my work, or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the thirtieth chapter in Akame ga Clover.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 30: Dark

"What are you doing here?" Asta asked as he looked at his Captain who was now standing in the cave between him and the Light Mage though the man quickly moved with his magic to put Asta between them just in case Yami suddenly attacked though he didn't seem to want to attack just yet for some reason. "Not that I'm complaining, I'm grateful, but this was a little unexpected."

"What am I doing here?" Yami said in a bored tone while taking a drag on his cigarette a katana in his hand and resting on his shoulder, which surprised Asta as he'd not seen the Captain with a sword before let alone something as rare as to be from a different land not on this continent if what Akame had told them back during that mission was accurate and Asta had no reason to doubt his squadmate on that front. "Seems like I got lost on the way to the bar. Know where it is around here, I could use a drink right now."

"You want a drink and were looking for a bar?" Asta asked completely believing what the Captain had said and thus utterly shocked by it. "That's why you're here? Seriously?"

"Jeez, do you have rocks for brains or something kid?" Yami asked as he grabbed Asta's head and squeezing as he lifted Asta up to eye level. "I was making a joke, a good one as well if I say so myself."

"What, a joke?" Asta asked. "I didn't think you had a sense of humor Captain."

"Clearly you don't get it so fine, I'm here because I'm a Magic Knight and I was told that there was trouble." Yami said with a sigh at Asta's inability to see his joke. "We got word about what was going on thanks to Noelle contacting headquarters and them sending some moron from the Green Praying Mantis Squad to inform us about it but everyone else was useless like always so here I am to pick up the slack. I'll kill them later."

"Seriously, they couldn't pull it together just once?" Asta asked as Yami looked around finally noticing the sounds of battle that were still going on around them. "Come on guys, you're Magic Knights so you should be ready for anything."

"This is why we're here?" Finral asked though neither Yami nor Asta acknowledged him, mainly because Asta hadn't realized that he was there, and he'd not spoken yet as he was feeling the magic coming from the Light Mage who's attack Yami had interrupted. "I should be asleep not dealing with this mess."

"What were you doing getting into trouble anyway?" Yami asked looking back to Asta his hand still holding Asta's head as a loud clash of steel on steel was heard followed by a grunt and a slight yelp. "I gave all of you the day off so you shouldn't be fighting like this. Maybe what you need is…"

"Finral, open a portal!" Akame yelled interrupting them. "Unless you want to take a slash from a katana to cleave you out of the way that is because my sister isn't one to hesitate."

"What? Sister? Since when did…" Finral asked turning to see that there was more going on than just one super powerful mage and letting out a loud yell as a girl around his age wearing a strange black shirt and skirt while holding a katana the same size as Akame's in her right hand sailed backwards towards him thus interrupting his many questions. "Seriously! I am not getting paid enough for this you know."

Despite his complaints, Finral instantly made a portal and the girl flew through it and out one on the other side of him to land on her feet and slide back over the cavern floor. As she did her grimoire glowing as it flipped to a new page while she held her katana up with a strange, slightly off, bloodlust shining in her coal black eyes.

Finral's magic was pretty low at the moment from a day of repetitively using it to try and get dates, or at least impress some lovely ladies, so he could only do short ranges and maybe one that would take him back to Nean at the moment after taking Yami here hence the short, defensive, portal. Akame, however, just ignored that as leapt over him and to the other girl her own katana in her hands so he dismissed it and turned to hear the other girl's spell.

"Blade Creation Magic: Bowie Barrage!" The girl said and suddenly a several single handed and single edged hunting knives that were identical to the ones Akame and Kurome had been given to survive as children in their previous lives after being sold to the Empire appeared in the air around the girl as she slid back and with a swipe her katana she sent them at Akame who was still in the air coming towards her. "Remember these Akame, I do and now I can make as many as I want with my magic."

"Wait did I hear that right?" Finral asked as Akame swiftly moved her katana to expertly intercept and deflect the knives away with a series of clangs though Finral did have to leap to the side to avoid one of them that slammed point first into the ground right where his foot had been. "Blade Magic? Someone else has that attribute? Also since when does she know who you are Akame?"

No one responded to Finral as Akame finished her blocks and brought her katana up and the down in a powerful two handed, overhead, slash aiming for the other girl's face. However, the other girl's managed to get her blade up in time to intercept it as she came to a stop in her slide back.

There was a loud clang as they clashed and the ground around the other girl's feet cracked but despite the force Akame was using and the sparks flying from the locked blades as the girls pushed against each other. Ultimately the other girl was able to hold the block through the force that Akame had brough to bear and then use her footing to push Akame back with a slash.

Akame just backflipped and landed on the ground, pushing off it right away and slashing at the other girl before she could move, pushing her back with a relentless onslaught of clanging blades and sparks that were almost impossible to track with the naked eye. Still, the other girl held her own as they moved away and Finral tried to process what he was seeing.

"Why won't you submit to the absolute justice you deserve evil doer!" A crazy female voice yelled elsewhere and Finral turned, Yami was still squeezing Asta's head not looking it seemed though he was sensing the ki around him and knew exactly what was going on, to see someone in sinister but cracked green armor with spikes on it having a hand to hand brawl with Tatsumi though the latter was in his Incursio armor and easily holding his own. "Die already!"

"Charming." Finral said as Yami finally let go of Asta and looked at the Light Mage behind Asta. "Thankfully I don't think Tatsumi plans on dying anytime soon."

"Alright so what is up with all this." Yami said noting that the Light Mage was in tattered, blood stained robes though he looked unharmed and that the ki of the girl facing Akame was similar to hers only less stable in some way while the one facing Tatsumi reeked of a malevolent bloodthirstiness that his clan's secret drug could only dream of accomplishing. "Who's the guy that looks like he's been through some sword blender, I'm presuming he got on the wrong end of one of Akame's spells though I've never seen one that can do something like that, and the girls fighting those two?"

"Well the Light Mage claims to be the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun and yeah he got hurt by Akame using some spell style I've never heard of before but when the girls showed up he used Healing Magic to get better while we were distracted." Asta explained. "The girls, they're reborn souls like Akame and Tatsumi, the Eye of the Midnight Sun have two in their ranks it seems so they've got no blocks and are from the Diamond Kingdom."

"If they have two then of course their blocks would be gone, seeing and recognizing the face of another reborn soul is what seems to break the blocks." Yami said. "But who are they? If they are from that same unit that those two were in then surely they'd be allies, right?"

"Well, it turns out that they're from that unit who was set up to hunt and kill them so they never were allies." Asta said. "The one fighting Akame is her sister, the one she had to kill, and uses Blade Magic as well so I'm pretty sure that's the case while the one fighting Tatsumi is some crazy girl that killed one of his compatriots. Her magic is weird, I don't get it and it sounds like armor but isn't, it's Armament Magic whatever that is."

"Seriously, the Eye of the Midnight Sun again? And right after the attack on the Capital?" Finral asked. "And two reborn souls who were enemies? The skills those two have are something else, especially when you add in their lack of hesitation to kill so the people they fought against, that's bad."

"It could be worse." Asta said. "The scary ice lady they spoke of isn't here at least."

"You'd already be dead if she was, based on what Akame told us about her she's on the level of a Squad Captain if not higher." Yami said. "I'm not sure about the armament chick or even what that is but if I recall their memories I think I may know which crazy chick that is though there were a lot of them from what I saw when Mushroom Head dug through their minds. Regardless, they've got those fights handled leaving the big guy for me so that's good. Still, I was expecting their leader to be some super buff dude who ate cows whole or something like that, not some scrawny freak."

"You know, not everything revolves around muscles Captain." Finral said as he was sweating now as he really felt the bottomless well of the Light Mage's magic that he'd not realized was seemingly infinite while several more of those light darts appeared in the sky above him. "The guy's got more magic than a royal and to add to it he's using Light Magic, that's really rare with only a few in the history of the kingdom ever wielding it. This will not be pretty."

"I see that the Black Bulls' Captain has arrived, I wasn't expecting him to personally appear Master." Valtos said as he stepped up next to his master to look at the three men facing them as they talked amongst themselves, the girls could handle the other two seeing as that's why he brought them so he left them to their own devices as they continued to either duel swords or fists depending on which one it was. "Shall I summon the Third Eye, Master? They could be of use against someone like him."

"There is no need for that Valtos." Patry said with a smile to one of the many vile humans he'd tricked into following him. "You see just as my magic is rare, the Captain's is rarer for he is a wielder of Dark Magic, an attribute with even less of a history in the Clover Kingdom than Light Magic and the only attribute that is in direct opposition to my own. I shall enjoy pitting my power against his in battle now that I'm fully recovered and have been humbled by that Blade Mage."

"Hey Finral, can you head back to the village." Asta said. "Make sure their safe and if so bring any back who can aid in this fight back with you."

"I can go back and notify them, sure." Finral said not planning on coming back but rather sneaking off as soon as he could because there was no way in hell that he was getting involved in this fight. "But what about you? There's a lot of chaos going on in here and you might get hurt in the crossfire."

"I can still fight; I'm not hurt or anything." Asta said which given how some of his other fights had gone was a surprise. "Plus, I've already seen Akame and Tatsumi really fight for the first time and now I can see Captain Yami in action as well. I'm not going to miss that. Three swordsmen, well swordsmen and swordswoman, I can't pass up learning all I can from them."

"Alright, well it's up to you Captain." Finral said as he created a portal that would take him to the central square in Nean. "I'll let them know that you've got this covered, don't worry."

"You'd better be coming back, Finral." Yami said the threat clear in his voice as Finral stiffened as he realized that Yami had realized that he'd been planning on sneaking off and leaving this to Yami, Asta, Akame, and Tatsumi so now he couldn't do that. "Go make sure that the village is safe and all is well and then get your ass back here, preferably with some good backup for this guy."

"The thing is, I may be low on mana what with the day off and all the dates I had before bringing you here so a portal to the village might be all…" Finral began before trailing off as Yami glared at him. "Honestly, I mean it, I don't know when I can return."

"And? Look at my face, do I care?" Yami said. "Push past your limits Finral."

"No sir, I understand." Finral said with a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of his head. "I'll try to…"

There was a flash of light as Finral turned to his portal but before it could reach Finral it was slashed out of the air with Yami's katana. He was holding it one handed and the move was simple but effective so Asta was stary eyed at it and noted how different that once interception was to how Akame had intercepted the Light Magic earlier.

"Hey, what's your deal?" Yami asked now glaring at the Light Mage. "You trying to mess with my ride? Not cool."

"Well I'm not looking to die so I'm off to make sure the village is safe." Finral said running into the portal he'd created to Nean, now really wanting to get away. "See you Captain, Asta, Akame, Tatsumi."

"You'd better be coming back Finral." Yami said as Finral ran through the portal. "Don't make me come get you."

"That was so cool!" Asta said as he looked at what Yami had done with stars in his eyes while the portal closed once Finral was through it. "And so different from how Akame uses a katana. Also how did you know that that strike was coming and how'd you get a katana in the first place? Aren't they from a different land?"

"Shut it Asta." Yami said. "To answer the last one, I'm from the Land of the Sun where they're a native blade so I'm trained in the use of a katana. As for how it's different to what Akame does with hers, it's obviously because my style is different to hers. She relies more on her mobility and precision while I use strength and force more but we've dueled properly once before and she wasn't as good as I am then but now, well I don't actually know. See, she knows the same thing I do which is how I blocked that…crap, no time to watch just watch. You should have picked it up from the other two but maybe not so what how I do it as well."

"Engage Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction." Patry said, his light darts had glowed brighter as Yami was speaking and he'd sensed the Light Mage's ki so he knew that the attack was imminent hence his ready stance when he said there was no time to explain what he had to explain to Asta. "You're in my way so time to die."

At that the light darts were sent at Yami but rather than respond, Yami just cloaked his katana in darkness and began slashing at the Light Magic as it came at him while standing in a solid, unmoving stance using a one hand style. It was noticeably different to how Akame had fought the Light Mage and Asta couldn't help but note it.

"That's so awesome Captain." Asta said stars still in his eyes. "You're entire style is different to Akame's. She tends to favor two hands when she holds her katana and utilizes her mobility to move between and defend when needed while any of those attacks that got past her were intercepted by Tatsumi's shields. You're just straight up blocking them."

"As I said, different styles and our physiologies play a part in it how we fight, how all swordsmen and women should fight." Yami grunted out as he worked using this as a teaching moment for Asta in the art of the sword. "That and you don't have an Armor Mage with the ability to naturally adapt his magic defensively to protect your right now I can't really avoid these things."

As this was happened Patry too noted the differences in styles. While Kurome's little sister had also used Reinforcement Magic to boost her natural abilities as well, she didn't need any additions to her sword as it was made with her Blade Magic so its strength was fully under her control. Meanwhile, her Captain was cloaking his sword in darkness to reinforce it as well and make it more effective against Patry's Light Magic which made sense given how Dark Magic was in direct opposition to Light Magic.

It was that darkness that allowed the man to slice through Patry's spells but he couldn't help but feel that there was something else just as when he'd fought the Blade Mage. There was something more to how the Captain of the Black Bulls fought and he wasn't sure what it was but he wasn't going to underestimate it.

Patry had done that against Kurome's sister and he'd paid for it, well that and he knew he was holding back because of her attribute and how seeing it affected him. Blade Magic was a derived evolution of Sword Magic, at least that's what it appeared to Patry, and that was Licht's attribute so he had a soft spot for any magic associated with his mentor and idol for whom he was doing all this.

It was part of the reason why he'd agreed to recruit Kurome when Seryu had suggested it, her magic helped remind him of Licht even more as she too could make a sword from her grimoire just like he could. That fact reinforced his conviction to do the right thing and get justice for the genocide of his people just as Licht would want.

That wasn't at play now though as Kurome dueled her sister while Patry tested himself against Yami Sukehiro. He was so far holding his own but to see what else was at play, Patry used the speed his magic afforded him to suddenly move behind Yami and try and hit him from behind with another Light Sword of Conviction. However, just as he got it off, Yami swung his sword back without even looking at Patry to intercept and destroy the attack.

"I must say, I'm impressed." Patry said after Yami blocked his attack. "So this is the power of an unorthodox Grand Magic Knight, intriguing."

"You know, you seem familiar to me." Yami said causing a flare of fear in Patry for William as the Dark Mage turned and thrust his sword at Patry but Patry dodged before suddenly being pushed backwards by darkness infused, powerful, sword swipes that really put what Patry had faced against Kurome's sister to shame. "Course, I think I'd remember if I'd met someone else who could use Light Magic, I know it well from my time before becoming a Captain as I had a friend with Light Magic but I've not met a Light Mage since then."

The Light Mage didn't respond as Yami pressed his attack so Yami just continued as he tried to hit the bastard. Hopefully this way he could at least get some answers from the man who'd orchestrated the attack on the Capital.

"So, tell, who are you and what the hell do you want?" Yami said as he pressed Patry. "Do you just get off on attacking people and causing terror like some sick bastard? You've got some reborn souls with you, those lot aren't the kind of people I'd want as enemies given the stories I've heard of their world so what's your deal?"

Despite his questions, Yami was constantly slashing at Patry who was forced to get some distance with his magic and try to attack but Yami again sliced through it as he continued to talk. The way the Black Bull Captain could seemingly predict where Patry would be and attack from was just like how his subordinate had fought him a few moments ago. That was what was more Patry realized, whatever they did, likely the same for the Armor Mage, it was not mana sensing. Light Magic should be too fast for that, this was more prediction as if the Captain knew where the attack would be before it was made.

Of course Patry had to confirm that and put Yami on the back foot so he quickly fled farther away and up into the air creating more Light Swords of Conviction that he started to send at Yami as fast as possible to keep him in place. As he did he responded somewhat to Yami's question to at least keep him preoccupied for the moment as he looked for an opening.

"You want to know what my deal is?" Patry asked in response but didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Well then, allow me to tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a…"

With that Patry began to tell his tale of his village back when he was an elf 500 years ago, though he left out the whole being elves part or how long ago it was, and how his people were blessed by the mana and revered as gods until the people turned on them and slaughtered them so that they could steal the elves' power. It was an abridged and simplified story but it was his tale and he wanted Yami to know it.

Yami of course didn't really care and responded with an abridged story of his own as he charged forward slashing the light darts and then running up the cavern wall to get closer to the Light Mage. It was the story of how Yami came to the Clover Kingdom and what he dealt with being a foreigner once he got here as he ended up beating up the bullies who'd beaten him up for being different and eventually become a badass Squad boss.

What he of course left out was that his father was a drunken bastard who'd fed their Clan's secret drug to his little sister Ichika to induce a bloodthirsty state and draw out all of her latent magic power. That had caused her to go on a rampage slaughter the whole clan except for Yami before passing out without any recollection of the incident.

Afterwards, in order to protect her seeing as Ichika was only 7 at the time, he took the fall for her massacre and let her believe that he was the one who murdered their clan before fleeing into exile from the Land of the Sun while Ryuya, his friend and son of the local lord who Yami knew would go places one day, took her in and hid the truth form her. From there he was legitimately shipwrecked and ended up on the shores of the Clover Kingdom, it was just the cause of why he'd left his homeland that Yami hadn't talked about.

By the time he was done and asking Patry about what he thought of his story in response the Light Mage's both men were back on the floor of the cavern having ended their first engagement in a clear draw. That was to be expected though, they were merely testing each other out, sizing the other up to see what they had to do to win this battle.

This wasn't like when Akame had fought Patry, she'd been forced to go all out from basically the start and only her exceptional skills from years of training, ability to read ki and use Mana Zone, and Patry's own arrogance had led to his injuries. Those were fully healed now and he was not going to take Yami lightly.

Patry showed that by getting faster with his next strike which he launched after Yami insulted the lines on Valtos's face following Valtos defending Patry from Yami's mocking with his own story and question about it. Patry wasn't sure if the story was true or not but he was grateful for Valtos's defense as it gave him the excuse to up his attack speed while also further ingratiating Valtos to him.

Still, the use of a katana was a good sign that Yami Sukehiro was indeed a foreigner from the Land of the Sun as they had to be custom made on this continent as far as Patry knew seeing as the only one he'd ever seen before today was the one Kurome made with her spell. Yami's was not made with a spell, it was the real deal so he was likely telling the truth which meant that Yami wasn't someone who had to pay for the sins of the past like the rest of the Clover Kingdom. Of course, if he allied with the kingdom then Patry would kill him but he'd give Yami the chance to leave if he wished.

"If what you say is true and you truly are from another land then feel free to leave this place for my quarrel is not with the likes of you." Patry said as even more Light Swords of Conviction appeared around him before shooting out at speed greater than he'd used at all today and now Yami couldn't block all the attacks so rather he was making sure that the only injuries he took were superficial and showing Patry that he wasn't going anywhere. "I see your subordinate takes after you, she too avoided mortal blows when I ramped up my attack while allowing a few of the non-lethal ones to hit. I wonder how much longer will you be able to hold out. You've done better than the last Captain I faced."

"Huh, wait does that mean that you're the asshole who messed up Fuegoleon the other day?" Yami asked as he kept up his defense as he glared at the Light Mage. "Well, are you?"

"Yes, I was the one who removed his arm and then stole what rightfully belonged to me that his vile bloodline either stole as a trophy when they slaughtered us or acquired sometime later but it doesn't matter now that I've retrieved it." Patry said with a smile, his words really pissing Asta off while Yami started to understand now. "Thanks to Rades's desire for revenge on the system that expelled him despite not doing anything wrong other than having a strange attribute, I was able to prepare carefully and the fool walked right into the trap I'd laid out for him."

"I figured that you'd have to use some form of deceit or trick to get him." Yami said, he'd already gone to check up on Fuegoleon as he respected his fellow Captain and was in turn respected back as Fuegoleon wasn't judgmental based on birth like some of the other royals, and as such Yami knew the man and his talents well. "Pathetic darts like this wouldn't do jack shit to him, he'd take you down in a fair fight and you knew it."

At that Yami launched his own counter attack and once again took the fight to Patry forcing him to get defensive and use his speed to dodge and retreat from Yami's darkness infused katana slashes. It got so intense that Yami was able to force Patry back up the wall of the cavern, running up it again himself until he sent two projected slashes of raw Dark Magic that Patry avoided. The slashed still destroyed several stalagmites in the roof of the cavern that fell to the floor and as they did Yami punched one of them with Reinforcement Magic coating his left first and at the Light Mage forcing him back.

In the ensuing rubble and destruction, Yami avoided some light beams that were sent at him as he finally prepared an actual spell. The drawback of Dark Magic, especially when it was used against Light Magic, was that it was a slow magic but that was fine with Yami as this spell alone would show this bastard just what he was messing with.

"Now, Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!"

The Dark Magic coated Yami's blade and he turned projecting the spell from his weapon and right at Patry as came to a stop and sent out more Light Swords of Conviction. The slash of Dark Magic easily cut through Light Magic and reached Patry just before he could fully dodge it and took a grazing cut to the cheek.

"Master Licht, not again!" Valtos exclaimed. "You can't keep letting inferiors likes them hurt you!"

"That was awesome Captain." Asta said the stars having never left his eyes the entire time. "Just like Akame, you sorted it out so you could get a hit in."

"I doubt it, given the state of his robes Akame got a lot more than a hit in." Yami said as he took a drag on his cigarette. "This just showed me that of course this bastard had to use a trap, he can't win a fair fight otherwise."

"Why…" Valtos began.

"Shut it, I'm talking to your pathetic boss." Yami said interpreting the line faced mane as he pointed his katana at the man. "You're dancing around, not fighting me head on and that proves that you're no combatant despite your magic power levels. You've been rattled by my Squad Member so you're just a scared animal who's about to piss his pants because I'm going to show you what her Captain can do. Come at me head on, if you can handle it that is."

There was a pause as they stared at each other for a moment but Patry just smiled. He wasn't going to rise to Yami's taunts or accusations of how he fought because to Patry anything was fair game against humans. Plus, he knew that he'd not lost to his Squad member, she'd just shown him that he was taking her too lightly and given the caliber of her Captain that was fair. He needed a moment to think on this before he continued and it seemed like Yami would give it to him as he suddenly addressed the magicless brat that was still with him.

"Hey, kid, were you watching any of that?" Yami asked not looking at Asta as he spoke. "Or the other two battles going on though those seem to have devolved into head to head duels, seriously those two need to push past their limits if they want to win. They know how to avoid my fight so get to it morons."

"Trying Captain." Tatsumi said before he let out a gasp as he took a punch to the stomach before he thrust his head up to headbutt Seryu under the chin that staggered her a little. "But this bitch is a lot tougher than she looks, her insanity is what makes her dangerous because she doesn't care about her own safety. This isn't an excuse, just and observation as I'm trying not to fight angry against her for what she did to Sheele."

"Shut it evil doer." Seryu said as she tried to headbutt him but he got his arm up and jabbed her in the chest with enough force to add another crack to her armor and keep the pressure up for a moment which shut her up as she got defensive on another onslaught from Tatsumi.

"No excuse Captain." Akame added as the clangs of her and Kurome's katanas rang out, fresh cuts covering her arms and chest though more were on Kurome's body as she'd landed a few more while Yami and the Light Mage had been fighting. "I'm realizing how much I relied on Murasame's ability and the lack of skill of my opponents in the past. I'll won't let this happen again."

"See to it that you do, I expect you both to win." Yami said feeling the convictions in their ki and knowing that they would find a way to push past their limits to win their duels. "Well kid? Did you watch them earlier. You said that Akame fought this bastard so surely you saw how she did faced him just as I did. Hell, if you've seen either of them fight since joining, which I'm sure you have given that Tatsumi spars with you, you should have noticed it."

"Er, I did Captain." Asta said stars still in his eyes from what he'd seen. "But I don't know what I'm supposed to have been looking for."

"Well I guess you wouldn't so now it's your turn to finally learn what those two learned a little under a year before you joined." Yami said. "I've been waiting to see if you're ready and given the situation I think it's time for that now."

"Yes sir." Asta said before it hit him and the stars finally left his eyes as he stared at Yami. "Wait, what did you say Captain? There's no way that I can do what you and Akame did, it was unreal the way you intercepted those attacks and her counter was magic based which I don't have."

"And, last time I checked I was still your Captain." Yami said turning to Asta and grabbing his head for the second time since arriving in the cavern. "And I'm not talking about how Akame sliced him up, I want to know that myself actually."

"Mana Zone spell." Akame called out as she backed up under a furious onslaught from Kurome who's recently taken the offensive in their duel, her katana intercepting her sister's as she spoke. "I used the mana around him to attack with a spell that creates several thin blades that slice you multiple times all at once. It's not easy and I needed a moment but I managed it after landing a hit that he had to heal. It was thanks to what you taught me Captain, along with what I can do to blades, but I couldn't have done it without that."

"See, Akame knows it, so does Tatsumi and they learned it when I told them to hence why I get all the credit." Yami said. "And now I'm telling you to do something and as your Captain that means that you do it. That is assuming that you want to be a real man one day."

"I do, pleas sir that hurts, my head may be hard but there's a limit to what I can take." Asta pleaded as Yami continued to squeeze Asta's skull.

As this was going on Valtos was getting angry as he questioned the power of both the Captain of the Black Bulls and his Squad. Not only had the Captain been able to easily hold his own against someone as strong as Master Licht but he'd managed to fight back and the girl, she'd used an advanced technique that few knew to land several minor injuries on the Master. The Captain might actually rival the Wizard King in power while at least one of his Squad might have Captain potential in her and yet despite this they were considered the worst Squad out there. How was this the case?

Meanwhile Patry was just fascinated by the power of Dark Magic as he faced the attribute for the first time. It was truly something else and he'd need something new for it in a moment but first he should deal with the cut while he had the chance and his grimoire turned a page so that he could use Healing Light Particles.

"Figured he'd be able to heal given the state of his clothes and the lack of injuries, not unheard of for those with a lot of mana to have multiple types of magic but healing and attack at the same time isn't common." Yami mused finally letting go of Asta's head as Patry was all healed up and more Light Swords of Conviction appeared around him. "Oh well, we can deal with that later. You ready to go?"

"Wait you were serious?" Asta asked turning to his Captain. "I don't think I can do that, what you're asking, it's impossible for me. I'm all for surpassing my limits and getting stronger but I can't use magic so there is one thing that I can't do."

"I'm not talking about my attack idiot; I'm talking about this." Yami said as he swipe his darkness coated katana to intercept a light dart and then another that was sent at them. "About how I'm blocking his stupid dart thingies."

"How do I hit it when I don't know that it's there." Asta pointed out. "I can't sense mana so I don't know when it's coming."

"I see, well then I've got no choice but to explain it to you, once." Yami said before adding. "For 500 yul that is."

"You're charging me?" Asta asked.

"Yup did that for Akame and Tatsumi as well when I taught them this." Yami said as he began to block more darts while speaking while the couple shouted affirmatives, and complaints, about that in the mists of blows in their respective duels. "Haven't you wondered how I've been able to respond to his attacks? How Akame likely did as well or how she and Tatsumi can duel at such high speeds without taking any lethal hits?"

"Yeah I have." Asta said as he paused for a moment to think on his Captain's words. "How'd you do it?"

"You may have heard the word from the other two but it's because I've been picking up on something the people back in my homeland call ki." Yami said as he continued to block attacks as he spoke to Asta. "Tatsumi and Akame know how to read ki because I taught them, it comes in handy when you use a sword in combat and for you it's doubly so given that ki isn't magic."

"Wait it's not?" Asta asked amazed. "I think I've heard the word but it was in battle so it's still foreign to me but you weren't sensing his mana? Neither was Akame when she faced the Light Mage, seriously?"

"Nope." Yami said as he began to explain it. "Ki is a person's glance, their breathing, their scent, the way their muscles move, the hint of their presence. When you combine all that living energy together that people give off, that is called ki where I'm from. Each person's ki is unique to them with certain undercurrents to it that you can generalize like the maliciousness coming from the person Tatsumi's fighting. In this case all I've been doing is reading the Light Mage's ki and using it to predict his moves. That's what Akame would have done as well and what she and Tatsumi have done in other situations. You're telling me that you've not done anything like that before?"

"Yeah I have, back during the attack in the Capital." Asta said as he thought back on it and realized that he'd used his hearing to detect where the Spatial Mage was hiding under a pile of bodies but the more he thought on what Yami was saying the more he realized that he'd noticed that kinda stuff before. "And now that you mention it, I have seen Akame and Tatsumi react as if they knew something was coming, back in the fighting pits when I watched them brawl and then again during our first mission together. Same here actually, Akame always seemed to know where the Light Mage would end up and tracked him as she chased him using that ability of hers to close in on him. I just thought she was sensing his mana though."

"Nope, she uses ki when she fights, same for Tatsumi." Yami said. "It's noticeably improved their fighting style just as I use it in my. For me it's combining the ability to read ki with my magic and the strength of my muscles while those two use it more in conjunction with their swordsmanship and combat training. Just think of it as me being a buff magical swordsman, I'm more similar to you than those two are when it comes to combat style."

"That buff part is no joke." Asta said as Yami set himself to defend even more light darts coming his way. "Your neck is thicker than most trees."

"Have you seen yours lately." Yami pointed out. "Soon you'll exceed Tatsumi for second most muscular in the Squad."

"What utter insolence, they're talking during a battle." Valtos said his anger clear in his voice. "Do they take us for weaklings?"

"No, they're just a mysterious bunch." Patry said as he continued to attack them from a distance as he watched their exchange. "The Captain isn't from this land, they have two reborn souls and that magicless boy, they're a ragtag bunch and yet for as sloppy as they look their talented to the point that their current ranking is clearly misleading. The Dark Mage especially, I wouldn't have expected this from him at first glance."

"They cannot be allowed to show anymore disrespect, Master, they've mocked you long enough." Valtos said unable to take it anymore despite Patry's words. "Please allow me to step in and aid you. I know that it is impertinent and I trust Kurome and Seryu to handle the other two even with what that Blade Mage did to you, she's wounded and can't hold a candle to her sister anymore, but I wish to assist you in taking down these two."

"I am grateful for the help Valtos." Patry said smiling at the man though his eyes were closed so that Valtos couldn't see that the smile didn't reach them not that Valtos would see the contempt that Patry had for humans until it was too late to stop his plan. "You are such an asset to me, always keen to be of use to our cause. Very well, the boy, capture him for me as I must have that grimoire back. You need not be gentle with him; he can be hurt for all I care."

"It would be my pleasure." Valtos said as he created a portal before him and a ball of raw mana in his hand. "This will teach that brat to defy you Master."

At that he blasted the mana through the portal and at Asta's back. However, before it could hit him a blade shot through the air and intercepted it, destroying the magic instantly in a small explosion and Valtos snarled as he saw that the Blade Mage and created it to intercept while her sister flipped back having clearly been pushed away following another locking of their katanas. Thankfully Kurome was still in the fight and she rushed forward to intercept Akame before she could do anymore and the clanging of katanas resumed.

"Good timing, thanks Akame." Yami said, he'd been about to save Asta himself when he felt Akame act and left it to her. "Now that that's taken care of you can practice reading ki by using it to beat that evil scarecrow dude."

"You want me to take him on?" Asta asked. "We talked about this, how can I…"

"Where I'm from we have a saying, whatever happens a warrior never goes back on his word." Yami said with an exhale of smoke. "You are a warrior of your word, are you not Asta?"

"I agree." Tatsumi yelled out. "Your word is important. You swore to be the Wizard King, Asta, so live up to that."

"Come on, you failed on that front." Akame said. "I don't blame you but still."

"I know." Tatsumi said.

"Would you two shut up about how Tatsumi failed to survive in your last life, I'm trying to be sage with the kid over here." Yami shouted at them which worked, well it was either that or the couple were forced on the defensive again and resumed their duels. "Anyway, you did say that you'd be the Wizard King, right? Back when I recruited you, I saw that conviction in you when you didn't back down which is why I accepted you into the Squad so this is where you've got to push past your limits. If you don't then your dream ends here."

"Yes sir." Asta said understanding right away as he set himself and tried to do it. "Sorry for my doubt, I won't fail you Captain."

Of course the big problem for him was that he had no idea what he was supposed to do so he decided to just concentrate on everything around him, both swords up and ready and ears opening as he listened for the attack. As he did that, Valtos taunted him and set up another attack that Asta saw in the air out of the corner of his eye and turned to the dark spatial portal as the magic was blasted at him but he missed the attack and it slammed into his left thigh just above his knee destroying his pants and burning his skin.

"Alright, I guess I missed that time." Asta said with a grimace of pain. "Next time…"

"Idiot, you think I wouldn't notice that you only used one of your senses." Yami said as he kicked Asta in the ass and sent him sprawling to the ground. "The only one you were using there was your hearing. That isn't how you read ki. To do it right you need to feel it with your whole body, use all your senses and feel the living energy being given off. Got it?"

"My whole body?" Asta asked as he got up. "How?"

"Simple, don't rely on just the standard senses you'd normally use so not just vision and sound." Yami said. "If I had to say what it is then I'd say it's somewhere between intuition and prediction. That should be enough for you to do it right this time or I'll kill you."

Asta thought that this was insane but now that he understood what he was supposed to do he started to get the hang of it as he set himself with his swords again. He had to use more than his ears and eyes, he had to reset everything and start from scratch if he was to get this right. Akame and Tatsumi could do this and had for as long as he'd known them so he knew that he could do it as well.

It was as he thought of the couple that he thought of the times that he'd notice them acting in advance of what was about to happen. Times like how Akame was able to move out of the way of a punch that was coming from behind her in the fitting pits without ever looking at the man or how Tatsumi told Asta and Noelle to get down when they were in that mansion of horrors after they'd seen him kill for the first time and they did right before someone came around the corner, who Tatsumi then killed as well.

Fresher in Asta's memory was how both Akame and the Captain had fought the Light Mage today and how they seemed to always know where he was. They could do it and Asta wasn't going to let them down by not learning how to read ki like they could.

As he was thinking this, Asta closed his eyes and reset himself, concentrating on his other senses and feeling what was going on around him. As he did a sense of calm came over him and in that calmness he suddenly knew that the attack coming in from his right side and with a roar he turned to it, flat of his great sword that he held in his right hand swinging to intercept the magic and reflect it back at the Spatial Mage with twice its speed and power.

The result was a loud clang from his sword as Asta's swing made contact with the magic before it was shot back through the portal it had come and into Valtos's chest before he could react. The force was such that he was thrown back with a low groan to hit the ground hard as the light attack ended for a moment due to Patry staring in shock at what had just happened as he'd not expected the magicless runt to do that to Valtos.

"Alright it worked!" Asta said with a laugh. "I can't believe it but I did it. Did you see that Captain?"

"You managed to pull it off on your second attempt?" Yami asked with mock horror his hand over his mouth. "You're a freak to do that."

"Wait he did it on his second go?" Akame asked as she and Kurome locked blades again pushing on each other for a moment as they once again tried to break the other's stance and strength. "It took me half a day to figure out what the Captain was getting at and a week before I was comfortable with it before I could reliably block Tatsumi's mana bullets with Murasame."

"Took me a day and I had to block blunted blades." Tatsumi said as he intercepted a punch on his forearms, Seryu snarling at him as she tried to push through the block, most of her armor now cracked with plenty of missing spikes while Tatsumi's was fine though that was due to the self-healing, adaptability, aspect of his magic as his body within it was bruised and bloody from the intense brawl. "Though I got the hang of it pretty quick given what Akame was using to make sure I learned it."

"How dare you vile humans hurt Valtos." Patry said his anger growing though it was in part an act to further his appearance to the others as their benevolent master who would look out for them as Valtos gasped in pain on the ground and Patry's grimoire flipped to another page. "I will not allow you lot to keep harming my compatriots. Just look at what you have done to poor Kurome and innocent Seryu. You've done too much damage already."

"Man what is wrong with this guy?" Asta asked. "They started this, not us, why is he twisting the truth?"

"Innocent?" Tatsumi asked as he pushed Seryu back once it was clear she wouldn't get through his block and she used that to leap a fair bit away while Akame did the same only with her sword and Kurome too fell back to get closer to her boss as both girls had a sense of what was about to come. "Yeah sorry to tell you asshole but there's no way she's innocent. Plus a bit hypocritical of you to be like that, isn't it?"

"It is, he came in with a surprise attack that wounded Gauche and that boy who'd just surrendered to Asta." Akame said. "So he definitely started it and hurt people before we responded in kind."

"Shut up you two, you may not be of this world but you sided with the Clover Kingdom and that makes you part of the problem." Patry said as a roiling beam of light was formed in his hand as it ungulated in the air before him with a light brighter than his darts. "As you can see, this spell creates an ever changing, whip-like track of light. Can you use that skill of yours to anticipate these movements I wonder? Time to see for long ago, when a person had sinned like you lot have in defying me and siding with an abhorrent kingdom, one possible punishment was flogging, often with a whip. This is a fitting end for the likes of you. Light Creation Magic: Light Whip of Judgment."

"Armor Creation Magic: Indomitable Shield." Tatsumi said as the light whip began to lash out in an unpredictable, constant, and fast pattern slamming into the ground, ceiling, and walls shattering what was left of the equipment while the Light Mage cackled with a clearly unhinged laugh that showed that despite his composure he wasn't fully there mentally. "Let's see how that string fares against my best shield."

"Your pathetic attempts to counter it are pointless!" Patry said as he laughed not paying attention to Tatsumi's words as the shield went up but before Tatsumi could move it to help the Light Magic slammed into it and warped it forcing Tatsumi to keep it in place. "Now die!"

"It's crumbling on us." Asta said as he noticed the ceiling of the cavern become more and more unstable from all the lashings of the light whip. "This doesn't look good."

"Finally, that nutball ain't holding back now." Yami said as he laughed slashing at the whip with his katana while Akame did the same where she was doing her best to predict where it would strike. "Plus he's showing some emotion, we're getting to him guys."

Akame didn't speak, she just focused on trying to counter the light whip and managed to deflect some of hit but even at maximum sharpness she couldn't cut through it due to how fast it was moving. Then to make matters worse, Murasame got stuck in it briefly as she slashed down at it. She managed to yank it free but in the process part of the roiling light whip slammed into her gut as she raised her katana up, the force of the blow tossing her back with a hiss of pain as her dress was destroyed there and her skin bruised by the attack.

Tatsumi acted right away leaping for his girlfriend as his shield moved to keep between them taking more blows but holding out as it got used to the increased power of the spell compared to those light darts though each blow further warped the shield as it would take time to fully adapt to the increased power. He didn't care though, he had to make sure that Akame was ok and he did by catching her bridal style in the air, still in Incursio, and landing with her in his arms, sliding over the ground and crouching low to protect Akame with his body as she grimaced in pain from the latest hit she'd taken.

As this was happening a portion of the ceiling above Yami and Asta collapsed from the damage it had taken and fell on them as Asta yelled at the sudden change. Thankfully Tatsumi and Akame were far enough away from it to be caught in it as Tatsumi came to a stop put Akame on her feet before rising to his full height though had it not been the middle of a battle he'd have continued to carry her. Once she was on her feet, he let her hold his arm to steady herself as she fought through the pain before they stared at the result as the light whip slowly vanished with the end of the spell.

The result was a large hole in the ceiling of the cavern revealing that there was still snow on the lip of it from the spell that started all of this, some of said snow falling down into the cave, and that light was in the sky so it was early morning now. That light fell onto an undamaged platform of cavern floor that the Light Mage stood on with Valtos on the ground behind him while Seryu and Kurome stood further back but to either side of the men.

Seryu's armor was now gone as she'd used the time to end the spell and preserve some mana but she was clearly battered with blood all over her clothes from her brawl with Tatsumi. Meanwhile Kurome still had Yatsufusa out but she too was covered in blood and her clothes were torn in several places from all the superficial cuts she'd taken though she was very glad that Murasame was no longer the one hit killer.

"I was attempting to restrain myself there." Patry said as the light from the sky seemed to fall on him as he stood there and Valtos started to sit up behind him and stared reverently at Patry, the light on him giving the man a near divine glow it seemed. "You really are weak, so too is your Kingdom, if that was all that it took to beat you two. It will fall and with you two out of the way I can handle the two remaining with ease. Do not worry Kurome, you may finish your sister off, I'll handle the Armor Mage as his magic seems to be adapting to mine so a good final test for me today."

"You destroyed them master, you defeated the only one who could challenge you." Valtos said with a wide grin as he looked up in awe at the man he idolized. "Surely only a god could wield such power. If you but wished it, all of the Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights would be nothing but corpses at your feet or cowering in fear of your power as you remake this kingdom for the better."

"You served justice on two who deserved it and will now do so on two more." Seryu said. "As I'd expect, master."

"My sister still lives so I can still kill her myself." Kurome added. "Thank you for allowing that, master."

Tatsumi and Akame just stood there and grinned despite the pain they were in, well Tatsumi's grin couldn't be seen as he had a helm on, because they could sense what was coming as the rocks where Asta and Yami were began to rumble. Then, before anything more could be said, the men burst from it, swords out, and grinning as they yelled to the shock of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. The battle was far from over and with this defiance the tables had turned in favor of the Black Bulls as they pressed their sudden advantage.

I know, another little cliffhanger to end this chapter on but what can I say, this arc is just too good when it comes to them so I couldn't pass it up. I know this chapter focused more on the canon stuff but it had to because it's where Asta learns ki and uses what he's seen from Akame and Tatsumi to help him master it. Don't worry, the next chapter will focus more on the two fights between reborn as they reach the next stage while Yami kicks it up a notch against Patry and Asta gets his change against Valtos. Of course there's more than just that so stay tuned for the next chapter in this arc as the four ki users in the Clover Kingdom work together to face the Eye of the Midnight Sun in this ever shifting battle. The last thing that I have to say here is that due to IRL stuff I cannot promise that I'll get the next chapter out within 2 weeks and as such will aim for chapter 31 to be published in 3 weeks' time. I will of course strive to have this be an overestimation of my time but I am being realistic and do not want to overtax myself at the cost of quality expect the next chapter in 3 weeks not 2 but if it is in 2 then it's because I'm ahead of schedule. Anyway, that is all that I have for y'all, however, so I will leave this chapter off here. If you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.

Stringdog