Chapter Six: A Trip to the Black Market

Hey there readers, just wanted to take some time to thank every single one of you that favorited and followed this story, as well as those who left reviews, you have no idea how happy I am, not even a month and this is my top story, so once again, thank you. Now that that's aside, I have some news, after this chapter, I won't post another chapter for a few weeks, I have a surprise for you all, so I ask that you be patient, meanwhile, you can check out my other stories to help past the time. Thanks.

With that out of the way, please enjoy the latest chapter.

"Ah, I can finally see it," Kenos said, some time had passed since he split paths with Zuka, he put his hand on his forehead to aid his vision, and he saw the hideout in the distance.

"I can't wait to get back, I could really use a hot bath, that was one hell of a mission," he said as he increased his broom's speed, before long, he was back on the ground, looking directly at the door of the hideout.

He dismounted his broom and pushed the doors open. "Hey everyone, I'm back," he greeted, but to his surprise, he didn't see anybody.

"That's odd, I expected to walk into a riot, but it's deadly quiet," he thought.

"So, you've come back, haven't you, Kenos?" a voice asked, Kenos turned in surprise to see Yami sitting down, a piece of paper in his hand, he then got up and walked to the solar mage.

"What the, I didn't sense his mana, that's the second time today, despite that, how did I not see him," Kenos thought before smiling. "You scared me there captain, where is everyone, I can't wait to tell you what-,"

He didn't get another word in, just as Yami got close enough to Kenos, he grabbed the rookie's head with one hand and lifted him mid-air.

"Ow ow ow, what the hell are you doing?!" he exclaimed as he felt the pain of the captain's grip, he saw him do this to Asta on the first day he came here, but he didn't think it would hurt this bad.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't I say to get here by sundown, that was last night, what the hell were you doing during that mission!" Yami exclaimed back as the other Black Bulls came out from the hallway, each having looks of some worry, all except for Gauche, Luck, and Grey of course.

"I'll explain everything, so please, put me down, this hurts like hell!" Kenos pleaded as Yami sighed and released him. He then explained everything that happened in Rielzu Village, his meeting with Zuka, fighting off an army of bandits, and restoring peace to an emotionally broken group of people.

"And that's when I got back here," he finished explaining.

"What, you and this Zuka girl fought off 100 bandits, so awesome!" Asta exclaimed.

Kenos scratched his cheek lightly. "Yeah, but we would've lost if it wasn't for the village chief coming when he did,"

"Well, regardless, you should be proud, that isn't usually what a rookie would face on their first mission," Finral said.

"Thanks, Finral, and speaking of first missions," Kenos began, turning to Asta, Magna, and Noelle. "How did boar hunting go?"

"Well, it was going fine at first, but then it made a complete 180 and turned into a fight for our lives," Noelle answered, explaining to Kenos the battle with the mysterious ice mage, Heath.

"Wow, it sounds like you three sure had a tough one, I guess we all had an unexpectedly difficult first mission," he stated.

"That's right, and since we're on the topic of missions, I got an announcement to make," Yami said, everyone facing him. "Our squad earned two stars,"

"Stars? Oh yeah, I remember those," Kenos mentally recalled, remembering being told that stars were earned by a squad for every mission and achievement they completed. "Hey, guys, what's our current star total?"

A good amount of the bulls looked away in humorous embarrassment. "Well, about that," Magna said, pointing to a spot on the wall. "Our current star count…"

Kenos looked to where Magna pointed and walked to that spot, he knew that the Black Bulls have the worst reputation among the Magic Knights, so their star count was probably around 10 or 11. However, once he saw how many they had, his eyes widened.

"..is negative 31," Magna finished.

"Negative 31!" Kenos exclaimed, during his time at home where he'd been taught about Magic Knights squads, stars came up a good amount of the time, but he had never heard of negative stars.

"Not anymore, I got this paper right before you got to the hideout Kenos, it has the info on the mission in Saussy Village as well as yours in Rielzu Village," Yami said triumphantly. "As I said, we earned two more stars, so that means our current count is in fact negative 29!"

"That's nothing to be proud of, oh and by the way," Kenos began. "If you knew what happened in Rielzu Village, why did you hurt me earlier?"

"Just did it to mess with ya, I do it with Asta all the time," the captain smiled, blowing smoke from his cigarette, causing Kenos to nervously shrug. "Now that that's out of the way, time to get on to the next topic at hand, it appears that today is payday,"

This earned a grin from everybody in the room, it was the day they would get paid for all of their services to the kingdom, free to use however they wished.

"Here you go," Yami said, grabbing large bags of coins and handing them off one by one.

"Oh wow, look at this, I've never seen so much money in my life!" Asta exclaimed starry-eyed.

"What're you talking about, this is hardly pocket money," Noelle said in a light tone of disappointment. She turned to her captain. "Is this really it?"

Yami, however, slowly turned his head face to her, a dark aura surrounding him, his eyes wearing their signature intimidating glare. "What was that, missy?"

"N-Nothing," she croaked.

Kenos looked at his pay too, the same was true with him, it wasn't too much compared to what he usually had, but he was grateful, throughout his life, things were just given to him because of his status, and while he didn't really mind that, he felt better knowing he earned something with his own achievements.

"Thank you very much captain," the solar mage said gratefully.

Yami waved a hand carelessly. "Don't mention it, and since our squad is doing well lately, you can all have the day off,"

"Thanks, captain," everyone said together.

"I wonder what are we all going to do?" Asta wondered aloud.

"Well, I'm going to go visit Marie, but first, I must spend every single piece of my pay to buy her something incredible, I'll see you all around," Gauche responded with a nose bleed as he took and broom and went outside, flying away.

"Hey Magna, wanna spend the day fighting?" Luck asked, filled with his usual vigor.

"What, no way we're fighting all day," Magna replied. "This is our day off, why would I do-," he was interrupted as Luck shot a blast of lightning at him.

"Oops, it seems you were too slow, what did you say again," the lightning mage cheerfully taunted, running outside.

"Oh don't you run away from me, you're toast!" Magna exclaimed, running after him.

"Well I'm heading out to search for some yummy treats outside, you all have fun!" Charmy called as she ran outside, her sheep cooks behind her.

"I know what I'm going to do, I'm heading to the capital to see if there are any ladies who want to have a bite to eat," Finral said, walking proudly to the door.

His words caught Kenos' attention. "Wow Finral, I didn't know you were such a ladies' man, seeing how confident you look, you must be really good,"

At those words, the spatial mage dropped his head in defeat. "I wish, luck hasn't really been on my side, but I try anyway, so I'll be off," he explained, before walking out.

"Well, I'm going to go shopping for some stuff," Vanessa said, changing into her public attire, she turned to Asta and Noelle. "Care to join me you two, if you don't already have plans,"

"Nah, we can come along, who knows, it could be fun," Asta replied, Noelle silently nodded beside him.

Kenos looked around and saw that the majority of the squad had left, Yami had left soon after calling the day off to go take a dump, he turned to Gordon and Grey, whose words and expressions were as hard to understand as usual, and he couldn't deny the two of them made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He then thought of staying at the hideout and finding something to do by himself, but then, as he did, a thought came to his mind.

"Instead of feeling bad for yourself, why don't you try to get to know everyone better...once you get to know them, I'll bet they'll feel like family to you too," the words of Asta spoke in his head.

Just as Asta, Noelle, and Vanessa were about to leave, Kenos raised a hand. "You three, wait!"

They turned quickly at him, Kenos lightly scratched the side of his head before he responded. "Would you mind, well, if I join you?"

"Of course, did you even have to ask, you're a member of our squad," Vanessa replied. "And since you're going too, it's practically a field trip for the rookies, well let's get a move on,"

Kenos smiled as the four of them walked outside, Vanessa got on her broom and Noelle climbed behind her, but Asta seemed hesitant.

"Something the matter?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, during our mission with Magna, when we all flew together on Crazy Cyclone, I put my arms over Noelle's waist to keep me from falling, but she pushed me right off of it, I thought I was going to fall to my death," the magicless knight explained.

"What, it caught me off guard, that's all!" Noelle screamed, her cheeks blooming pink.

"Well, if that's what you're worried about, then you can fly with me," Kenos offered, Asta graciously accepted it and the two brooms flew off in the sky.

"You three are going to enjoy this so much, I love it when I go shopping!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"I hope so," Asta said before turning to Kenos who was in front of him. "Hey, Kenos,"

"Yeah?" the solar mage asked.

"I'm proud of you,"

Kenos was a bit taken aback by that. "Proud of me, what for?"

"You took my advice and asked to come along with us, you'll become close with all the Black Bulls in no time," he replied.

Kenos smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he then turned to the scarlet-clad mage. "Hey Vanessa, are we close to this place?"

"Yup, we're about to get there right about now," she replied before looking down. "Ah, look what I told ya, we're here, get ready to land,"

The two brooms landed on the ground, as the four of them dismounted, the three rookies looked in awe. "Wow, what is this place?" they asked together.

"This is the castle town of Kikka, it's pretty popular, I'm surprised you've never been here before," she answered.

"Me too," Kenos said, looking at the area before him, internally remarking the number of people and businesses there were.

"Well, let's get a move on, the shopping place isn't too far from here," Vanessa said as she began walking, the three quickly followed her.

"So many people, I'm getting more excited, I've never gone shopping for clothes before," Asta mused.

"You've never gone shopping before?" Kenos asked.

Asta nodded. "That's right, growing up in Hage Village, we didn't have a lot, not much money, not much food, and not many clothes either, if I am going to buy something, I wonder what,"

"And, we're here," the two of them turned forward to see Vanessa and Noelle standing in front of a wall, Noelle was showing visual confusion, and so were the other two rookies.

"Um, are you...sure about that?" Kenos asked, tilting his head.

"I am, just follow me," she replied, walking forward, the three expected her to just hit the wall, but to their surprise, she phased right through.

"What the?" they said perplexed, Noelle slowly walked to the wall and protruded her hand, and it phased right through the wall as well.

"It must be a camouflage spell," she deduced, walking through it, Asta and Kenos did the same, but once they reached the other side, they were overwhelmed by a mixed feeling of excitement and discomfort, they saw ominous-looking stands, and fewer people than before.

"So, Vanessa, is this the shopping place?" Kenos asked with some uncertainty.

"You betcha," Vanessa replied, turning to the rookies. "Welcome to the Black Market,"

"The Black Market?"

"Yes, this is a great place to buy magic items as well as some other things," she elaborated.

"So, no shopping for clothes?" Asta asked as Vanessa shook her head. "Ah, but what's the point, I don't have any magic power,"

"True, but not all magic items require you to have magic," Kenos said to him. "While the large majority does, some exist that don't need it, and besides, there's probably other things to buy, just like Vanessa said,"

"That's the spirit, now let's check some stuff out, we'll split into groups, Noelle and Asta will be one group, and I'll be with Kenos," the scarlet mage instructed. "And don't worry if you get lost, everyone here knows me since I come here often, so just ask if they've seen me around,"

"Alright," Noelle and Asta replied, splitting off from the two.

Vanessa turned to Kenos. "Let's get a move on," she said as the two walked around, passing through a multitude of stands, as they passed through, merchants called out to them.

"Hey Vanessa, good to see you," one merchant said.

"Yo Vanessa, you looking for something new today, I just got some new items," another one said.

"Vanessa, how have you been girl, look at this new wand, it's on sale if you want it," a third one added.

Kenos watched Vanessa wave and greet each of the merchants they passed by and was amazed. "You weren't kidding, everyone here really does know you," he said.

"That's right, like I said, I come here often, I've become friends with nearly every merchant, looking for items and accessories have me coming here many times in just a week," she replied.

Kenos looked at the mage and smiled. "Wow, I would've never guessed that, it's like you're a completely different person when you're not drunk, I'm glad I decided to come here, I found out a little bit about you,"

"No problem, I'm one of the older Black Bulls, if you ever want to talk to anybody or want to know more about me, you can just come talk to me," she told him.

"Thank you," Kenos bowed respectfully. "I wonder how Asta and Noelle are doing?"

"Hey, Vanessa, Kenos," two voices called.

"That was oddly good timing," Vanessa giggled as Asta and Noelle approached them. "Is something the matter?"

"Not really," Noelle replied. "I was just wondering if you could help me, I'm looking for something that can aid with magic control, but I don't know where to look,"

"Oh, I can help you with that, follow me, I know a merchant who should have what you're looking for," Vanessa replied as she walked to the royal. "Let's do a switch, Asta will be with Kenos, Noelle is with me, we'll be in that general direction, so you know where to go to find us,"

"Okay then, I hope you find what you're looking for," Asta said to them before turning to Kenos. "Alright, it's just you and me now. So, how are you enjoying the trip so far?"

"It's been great, but I haven't seen anything I really like yet, what about you?" Kenos asked back.

Asta shook his head. "Okay I guess, I really don't know what to buy," he replied.

"I see, well, let's keep looking around, maybe we'll find something," Kenos said, Asta nodded as they kept walking down the path.

Ten minutes passed as they kept walking. "Damn, we've been walking for some time now, I wonder if we'll find anything," Asta groaned.

"Even if we don't find something we want now, we can go back and check on the stands that we passed, after all, we did just skim by," Kenos told his squadmate.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Asta said before turning his head, as well as Kenos, both of their attention being drawn by a merchant.

"New items for sale!" the merchant announced, they had the appearance of a middle-aged man, his hair was dark gray, he kept calling before he noticed Asta and Kenos. "Oh, Magic Knights, and Black Bulls at that, you're part of Vanessa's squad,"

"That's right, what're these new items you're selling?" Kenos asked.

"Well, I only have two new ones today," the man replied, showing them to the two rookies, one was a white ring with four green outlines, the other was a small jar filled with some kind of white lotion.

"Those look pretty cool," Asta stated.

The merchant nodded. "Of course they do, the jar contains an ointment that's really good for damaged or torn muscles, as for the ring, it increases the wearer's physical traits, like their strength, speed, stamina, and durability, while it doesn't require magic to use, once these four green lines turn black, it effects wear off and they must be replenished with magic,"

Kenos looked impressed by the two presented products. "They're both incredible, hey Asta, why don't you get that ring, if it runs out, either I or one of the other Black Bulls can replenish it for you,"

"True, but that's not the way I do it," Asta politely declined. "I like training my body the old fashioned way, using an item to increase my physical traits just wouldn't be right with me,"

"Oh,"

"If you want, why don't you take it," Asta suggested. "I do remember you saying you work out, but you did lose in our one on one match, you could use that ring,"

The solar mage grinned. "C'mon man, I just tripped, I would've had a chance too, but you do have a point, it would be useful, I won't even need to use it all the time," he reached in and grabbed his bag of income. "I'll take that ring,"

Asta walked over. "I don't want the ring, but that ointment looks super useful if I ever hurt myself by mistake while training," he too took out his bag of income.

"Thank you very much you two," the man said as Asta and Kenos walked away from him.

"I wonder when I'll ever need to use this ring, but now that I think about it, I really could've used this earlier today while I was in Rielzu Village, it would've come in handy," Kenos said.

"Same here with my mission too, but, on the bright side, those missions made us stronger," Asta said.

Kenos nodded. "You're right, now, I think we should go meet back up with Vanessa and Noelle,"

"Okay," Asta said as the two of them turned around and walked back down the path, speaking to each other about their newly purchased items. Soon, they saw Vanessa and Noelle in the distance.

"There they are...wait, who's that?" Kenos asked with some confusion, as they got closer, they noticed a teen next to the two female Black Bulls, he was tall and had blond hair, the solar mage also noticed something else about him. "He's a Magic Knight, and by the color of his robe, he's a member of the Green Praying Mantises,"

"That guy does look familiar, I'll go over there and see what's up," Asta said as he began running towards them.

"Hello there, is this the first time you've been here, because I don't remember seeing two beauties like yourselves around?" the teen greeted with a flirtatious tone as he approached Vanessa and Noelle.

Vanessa's face showed that she was not impressed. "Noelle, do you know him?"

Noelle gave the same facial expression. "Never seen him before in my life," she then turned to the mage. "Get lost, insect,"

"Insect, surely you're just playing hard to get, there's no need for-," the teen began before being interrupted by a loud sound.

"Hey!" Asta yelled, running over to them. "We're back, and who are you?" he asked, turning to the mage, but once he saw his face, his eyes showed some anger. "Sekke,"

Asta remembered Sekke, the mage he fought in the combat portion the Magic Knights entrance exam, he also remembered what Sekke told him before they fought, about how he was wasting his time fighting a magicless commoner and that Asta should just quit, but he proved him wrong when he won the fight with one attack.

"Bah ha, Asta, didn't think that I would run into you," Sekke said, scratching his head. "Damn it, why do I keep running into him, it's his fault no other squad but the Green Praying Mantises wanted me, and now I see he's in the same squad with these babes!" he then thought to himself frantically.

"So, I'm guessing you know him?" Noelle asked.

"Yeah, his name is Sekke, we fought at the entrance exam," Asta replied.

"That's right, losing to Asta reminded me that I have to work harder if I want to make it big in the Magic Knights," Sekke said, before giving one of his signature laughs. "Yeah right, no way I can do all that work, but I might have to, seeing that my captain is a psychopath," he thought.

"Is that so?" Asta asked, looking menacingly at the mage.

"U-Um, of course," Sekke replied nervously.

He expected Asta to get mad or something, but he was caught by complete surprise when Asta laid his hand on his shoulder, his signature starry-eyed look was present, and a smile was on his face.

"I'm so glad you've decided to turn a new leaf, I thought you were still planning on being lazy and letting your squad carry you, but I was wrong," Asta said cheerfully.

"Nope, you're completely right," Sekke thought. "No worries Asta, bah ha,"

"Hey there guys," Kenos said as he walked up to them, he then turned to greet Sekke. "Hello there,"

Sekke, however, looked at him in disbelief, he looked down at Kenos' pendant, confirming his thought. "You're Kenos Rossiu,"

"Um, yes, that's right, and you are?" Kenos asked.

"I am Sekke Bronzazza, but you're wearing a Black Bulls robe, which means the rumor is true," he said.

Kenos was looking understandably confused. "Excuse me, what rumor?"

"You haven't heard, people are saying-," Sekke was about to explain, but was cut off by a scream.

"Help, I've been robbed!" An old lady exclaimed, they all turned to see that she was chasing a man dressed in a shady cloak, in his hand was a bag that appeared to be full of items.

"You'll never catch me, hag!" the man exclaimed, his grimoire then floated in front of him, flipping through pages. "Wind Creation Magic: Thief King's Nimbus!" he exclaimed as a cloud appeared below him as he flew away.

"We can't let that guy escape!" Asta screamed as he ran in the direction of the thief.

"I'm coming too," Sekke added, taking out his grimoire. "Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke Shooting Star!" he exclaimed as a motorcycle appeared, the head of the motorcycle was in the likeness of Sekke's face. "Off I go," he said as he blew past them.

"I better join the chase," Kenos said, looking down at his ring. "This is a perfect chance to test this," he put it on and looked around it, seeing a small light green button. "This must be how I activate it," he deduced as he did so, he then became encased in a light aura.

"I can feel it," he continued before he started running, it was easy to see that his speed had increased.

"We should go too, though I might put a wrench in our shopping plans," Vanessa told Noelle as the two of them ran as well, though not at the speed of the three boys.

"This spell is much faster than my old one, let's see that old lady catch me now," the thief mumbled to himself triumphantly.

"Hey you, you're not getting away!" Asta exclaimed as he was getting closer to the mage.

"What the hell, how is this kid able to keep up with me," he said.

"Asta isn't the only one you have to worry about!" two more voices exclaimed, the thief turned to see Kenos and Sekke not too far from Asta.

"Damn these guys, I can't let them catch me," the man mumbled.

"We have to hurry," Kenos said, pointing at a nearby building. "If he goes past that building, we'll lose him,"

"I have an idea," Asta said as his grimoire came in front of him, he drew out his sword. "Take this!" he exclaimed as he threw it at the thief.

"He's throwing it, not like it'll work, it'll just go through my nimbus," the thief said confidently, but was surprised as Asta's sword passed through his cloud, causing it to disperse, and him to fall to the ground.

"Nice shot, now we can take care of him," Sekke said as he dismounted and deactivated his spell. "Your days of stealing are over, you're going to prison, any last-," his threat was interrupted as he felt something pierce his shoe.

He looked down and saw the thief stab his foot with something, his foot then began to turn purple. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he dropped to the ground. "Poison, I'm doomed, it's all over for me,"

Kenos looked at the thief. "You're not going anywhere," he grimoire floated in front of him. "Solar Binding Magic: Sunbound Shackles!" he exclaimed as shackles of sunlight came out, cuffing the thief's wrists and ankles.

"Sekke, you're going to be okay, just hang in there!" Asta exclaimed, kneeling down to look at the fallen knight.

"No, it's the end for me, Asta, I can feel the poison spreading through," Sekke said dramatically.

"No, you can't die, what about working hard to make it big in the Magic Knights, are you just going to throw it away!" Asta exclaimed.

"I have no choice, just promise me, Asta, promise me you'll make it big in the Magic Knights, for the both of us," Sekke said before closing his eyes, waiting for death to grab hold of him.

However, that time didn't come.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but that wasn't poison," Sekke looked down to see Vanessa rubbing his shoe with an ointment. "It was just an item made to numb your foot, you aren't in any danger whatsoever,"

"Oh, I see," Sekke said crestfallen, mad at himself for making such a dramatic scene for nothing, even going as far as to make a promise with Asta of all people.

"I need to get out of here, but these shackles are stopping me from moving, luckily, I have something to get around that," the thief thought as his grimoire floated in front of him. "Wind Magic: Wind Thrust!"

The others were caught off by the spell's declaration and looked up to see the thief in the air.

"He won't get far," they turned again to see Noelle, she pointed a brown wand at the thief before blasting water at him, sending him crashing into a building.

"Nice work Noelle," Vanessa said.

"Thanks, but I owe you one, this wand you showed me is doing wonders for my magic control," she said back.

"As for that guy's grimoire," Vanessa then said, taking out her own grimoire, summoning strings from it and using them to take the thief's grimoire.

"Wow, what kind of magic is that?" Kenos asked.

"It's thread magic," Vanessa replied.

"Awesome," the solar mage mumbled before walking over to the bag of items the thief stole and picked them up. "Well, that's everything, we should head back and return this, one of you get the thief, my shackles are still binding him, but he's unconscious,"

"Right, I'm on it," Asta volunteered, walking to the unconscious mage and lifting him up, they all then returned to the main area of the market.

"When we leave the Black Market, we'll hand this guy over to a capital mage," Vanessa told them all.

"Great, now I just have to return these," Kenos said as he walked to the old lady.

"Thank you very much, young man," the old lady said.

Kenos placed the bag in her hands. "No problem, it was my-," he stopped midway as he felt something strange. "What's up with this lady's mana, it's weak, but regardless, it feels so familiar, could it be,"

"Is something the matter," she asked.

"Oh, nothing," Kenos quickly replied.

"Well, I think we should leave, I've had enough of the Black Market for today, thanks for bringing us here Vanessa," Asta said.

"My pleasure, and the day isn't over, we can still do something else," she said as they all made their way to where they entered from, all for Kenos that is.

Noelle turned around. "Hey Kenos, you coming?!" she called.

"I am, just have to check something, I'll meet you at the entrance!" he called back before turning around and seeing that lady walk away from him.

"Wait!" he called again, catching up with the old lady.

"Is there something else you need?" she asked.

"Not really, it's just..," Kenos began, getting closer to the lady. "..you thought you could fool me,"

The lady began to sweat a little. "W-What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know it's you...Julius," Kenos said.

The old lady sighed before she was encased in light, the light then slowly cracked away, revealing a tall man with blond hair, that man was in fact Julius Novachrono, the 28th Wizard King.

Kenos smiled. "I knew it, your mana felt familiar, so it appears you're going on your usual trips out of the palace aye,"

"Yeah, you got me again, but to be honest, I didn't think you'd be here," Julius said. "Yami told me you joined his squad, how're you enjoying life with the Black Bulls?"

"It's been great so far, and I already got the squad a star," Kenos replied. "I have to thank you again, for letting me have a chance to join the Magic Knights,"

"Don't mention it, I'm glad you're doing well, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to Dante or Oxanna, I hope they're doing fine too," Julius answered before hearing a beep.

"Oh," the mage said as he took out a device, a hologram appeared, on the other side, a man with turquoise hair was seen. "Hello there Marx,"

"Master Julius, what're you doing, you're supposed to be at the palace, there's paperwork to do," Marx said, clearly unhappy.

"Relax Marx, I wasn't gone for too long," Julius said with a smile.

"That's what you always say," Marx groaned.

Kenos walked over to the transmission device. "Hey there Marx, good to see you,"

"Oh, hey Kenos, it's been some time, how have you been?" Marx asked.

"I've been great, but it appears you have your hands busy with our resident magic nerd," he replied.

"You got that right," he said back as they both looked at Julius.

"C'mon you two, cut me some slack," Julius said nervously before turning to Kenos. "Say, that kid that was with you, you called him Asta, how did he stop that thief's cloud spell, it didn't look like a spell?"

"That's because it wasn't a spell, Asta's sword can negate magic," Kenos replied.

"Really, negate magic, I have to find out more, tell me what you know Kenos, tell me," Julius said starry-eyed, Kenos sighed, remembering how much this reminded him of Asta.

"The only thing I'll tell you is that you and him are very much alike," the solar mage replied. "I'd better be off, Yami gave us a day off, and my friends are expecting me to meet up with them," he then began walking away.

"Just wait there Kenos, I have one more thing to ask you," Julius said.

Kenos stopped and turned to face him. "And that is?"

"Have you found anything more about your grimoire?"

Kenos looked down at his grimoire, ever since he got it, he wondered what the fifth leaf on it meant, even Julius didn't know too much about it other than he felt something coming from it, something strong, but unknown.

"For now, nothing, I guess only time will tell," Kenos replied as he walked away from the Wizard King.

"Kenos Rossiu, the mystery surrounding your grimoire is an interesting one, and I'll do my best to find out," Julius said as a portal appeared and he walked through it.

Kenos ran through the path, soon he saw the others in the distance.

"Hey, Kenos, what took you so long?" Asta asked.

Kenos caught his breath before answering. "Just ran into someone I know,"

"I see, we were talking about where we should go next?" Vanessa asked. "Got any ideas, Kenos?"

Kenos smiled. "Not a clue, but that doesn't matter, I bet we'll enjoy wherever we are, I know I will," he replied as they all phased through the wall, ending their visit to the Black Market.