Chapter Fifty-Four: Nothing Special
How's it going there, readers, Day 4 has come, and with it, a new chapter, I hope you enjoy this one, it was a pivotal moment in the series, with a few changes of course. Cya.
"So, which one of you out of your little bunch of goody-two-shoes and traitors are going to fight me first?" Ladros asked sarcastically, regardless, every mage present was on edge.
Mars stood protectively in front of his love interest. "Fana, stay behind me, I know how he fights, but you don't, we shouldn't do anything too rash against him,"
"Okay, I'll leave it to you," Fana told him before her grimoire strangely came up to her without her usual telepathic signal, it turned to three separate pages, each with text on it, but then the text undid itself and they once more became blank pages.
"What the? I've never heard of a grimoire removing spells before, but they all had something in common, they all had the words 'Flame Spirit Magic' in them, I don't recall knowing a flame spirit, although I do feel like a presence has left me, I'm so confused," she muttered to herself, but put her attention back to the impending fight.
Asta stepped forward and pointed the Demon-Slayer at Ladros. "I don't know why you're talking like that, like you've already won or something, but know this, we aren't going to lose to you!"
Ladros looked at the swordsman, his brow raised in confusion. "That's strange, I'm not picking up a mana signature from you, I thought there would at least be a low signature, but it's not even that, who are you?"
"My name's Asta, you won't detect any magic from me because I don't have any," the magicless mage replied without any hesitation.
"No magic? That's weird, but then again, I'm no stranger to unexplainable phenomenons, you see, I was born without an attribute, I have magic, but the plainest variety. Think of it like yogurt or a bagel, there are multiple flavors and toppings, but they have plain versions, that's me, my magic is as simple as it gets," Ladros explained.
"I...see, I suppose it must've been hard growing up, this world isn't too fond of people that are different," Asta said.
"I know what you mean, but maybe there are people in the world who can help us or maybe there aren't," the basic mage said with a grin, looking at Fanzell who merely turned his head away. "Say, we're sort of the same, why don't we work together, we don't have to fight each other," he said, but his mind was a different story.
"Sorry there, kid, I know first-hand how harsh this world can be to people like us, but once you agree to join me and we take down these losers, I'm totally double-crossing you, I just hope you don't take it too bad," he thought, but his offer wasn't met with the answer he was expecting.
"Join you? What the hell are you talking about, I'm not going to join you, I get that the world mistreated us, but you're clearly an enemy.
Ladros gave a deadpan expression for a few seconds before it turned back into its sarcastic look. "Well damn, no harm in trying I guess," he then summoned his mode of transportation as he jumped on it and flew above them. "I hope you don't mind if I take the high ground, I'm going to enjoy eliminating every single person here, and I'll start with you, Asta,"
The swordsman looked him straight in the eyes. "Bring it on,"
"I like that confidence, but let's see how long it will last, Basic Magic: A.E Cannon Barrage!" Ladros exclaimed as the translucent white sphere surrounded him, but unlike the Million Lasers spell, all of the shots fired in one direction, more specifically, at Asta.
The magicless mage went for the attacks head-on, using his sword, he quickly deflected all of the bullets in other directions, and once he saw the opportunity arise, he shot one right back at its origin.
Unfortunately, his move was unsuccessful as when the deflected shot finally neared Ladros, it disappeared into his translucent sphere. "Sorry there, kid, but I'm afraid deflecting attacks back at me isn't going to work. A.E Cannon Barrage, or Absorption & Emission Cannon Barrage takes the magic I've previously absorbed and fires them as bullets in one direction of my choice, the neat thing is that in the case that my attacks are sent back at me, like now, the shot will be reabsorbed and emitted back as if nothing ever happened,"
Although the basic mage looked happy, Fanzell gave a small smirk. "There you go again, Ladros, explaining how your magic works, even though my plan to overload you failed, it still showed that you're fine disclosing information, I know that Asta will find a way around your spell," he thought.
"So, that spell of yours is unbeatable, aye?" Asta asked while in the middle of deflecting more shots.
"You got that right!" Ladros replied with a laugh. "Although there is a spell I like more, regardless, this is my most invincible spell, no magic attack of any kind can defeat it!"
"No magic attack?" the swordsman then asked, a small grin appearing on his face.
"Am I talking to a cave? That's what I said, I don't know why do you look happy though, there's nothing you can-," the basic mage began saying smugly, but that stopped as he felt a sudden sharp pain, he slowly looked to where he felt it, and was shocked to see a short, rusty sword lodged in his soldier. "B-But how?"
While Ladros was busy boasting, he didn't notice Asta pull out the Demon-Dweller and throw it right at him, thanks to its properties, it was able to bypass the magic-absorbing sphere and comfortably plant itself into the blond general's shoulder.
Ladros dropped to the ground as Asta started walking to him. "What did you do, brat? How did your sword hurt me?"
"As I said, I don't have magic, but I do have these swords which have anti-magic, and with anti-magic, I can negate magic," Asta explained.
"A-Anti-Magic? Ah damn it, the one power that could stop me and you're the one who uses it, just damn," Ladros said as he tried to take the sword out with his hands, but the effort was ineffective, he then put his hands up. "Please, take the sword out, I surrender, you're much too strong for me, I won't attack anyone, promise,"
"You won't attack anyone, and you'll surrender?" the swordsman asked genuinely.
"Yes, once you take it out, I'll leave this place and never come back, you'll never see me ever again!" the basic mage yelled.
"Hm, is that so?" Asta said as he slowly brought his hand to the handle of the Demon-Dweller.
Within Ladros' mind, he grinned. "Ha, that was easier than I thought, once he takes out that sword of his, I'll use Million Lasers and send them all straight to hell, there's no way they can survive the attack point-blank," he thought.
But a huge surprise came as Asta took hold of the handle and pushed it in further, causing the basic mage to scream in pain. "What are you doing, that's not taking the sword out?!"
"You, surrender? Yeah right, there's no way I'm falling for that, your Ki is so easy to read, you were lying about wanting to work together, and you're lying now!" the magicless mage exclaimed as he pointed at the basic mage.
"I'm not even going to ask what the hell Ki is," Ladros said with an irritated tone, his head dropping to the ground, he turned and saw the other mages looking at him, he could tell from their expressions that they were somewhat at ease, seeing that the enemy was seemingly defeated, he started to detect their mana signatures through habit, they were moderate, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Or so he thought.
He detected one signature that felt familiar, similar to something he absorbed earlier, and it was something he liked.
"What I'm about to do is risky and could possibly fail, but it's worth a try," he thought as he focused and emitted magic in a small mana explosion, that explosion managed to force the Demon-Dweller out and send it a few feet back.
"My sword!" Asta exclaimed as he ran to get it.
Ladros quickly got up. "Basic Magic: Quick Flash!" he exclaimed as he boosted himself straight at Mars, the mineral mage wasn't able to react fast enough and got punched in the face.
"Mars!" Fana exclaimed, it didn't matter if she never fought the mage before, she was going to do something, but just like her love interest, she wasn't able to react fast enough as Ladros grabbed her hands and bound them behind her back.
"Damn it, get away from her!" Fanzell exclaimed this time, ready to attack.
"Stay back, or else she dies!" Ladros told them, forcing all of the mages to keep their distance and not do a thing, he then looked at the flame mage. "Hello there, it seems I'm going to need your help,"
Fana sort of recognized that voice. "Ladros? Is that you?"
"You know me?" the basic mage said as he looked at her closer before his eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a minute, Fana? I'd recognize that pink hair anywhere, I thought you were dead, but hey, I guess I was wrong, this makes things a bit easier. That fireball that hit me a little while ago, the mana coming from it is incredibly similar to yours, so I'm going to need you to give me some more of that power,"
"W-What are you talking about, I don't remember any fireball?" Fana said with confusion.
Noelle raised a brow. "That's odd, she doesn't remember what happened before her third eye disappeared,"
Ladros tightened his grip. "C'mon Fana, don't play dumb with me, help a fellow former student out, or else I'll have to get physical," he said before freeing one of his hands and pointing it at Mars' body on the ground.
"What are you going to do?" Fana asked.
"Why tell you when I can show you!" the blond general exclaimed as he fired a bullet at Mars, sending his body up in the air for a few seconds as he grunted in pain.
"No, Mars!" the flame mage cried before turning to her captor, her voice growing dark. "I don't know what happened to you, Ladros, but if you hurt him again...I'll kill you!" she screamed as fire appeared around her and Salamander took form, roaring loudly.
Everyone had looks of worry on their faces, but Ladros' was quite the opposite, in fact, he was ecstatic. "There we go, I knew you had it in you, Fana, now come to me, spirit, I want that powerful magic of yours!" he exclaimed as he began absorbing the fire spirit, a bright explosion then occurred, causing everyone to cover their eyes.
The light faded soon after, so the group of mages opened their eyes again, but not even a second passed after doing so before it widened greatly.
They saw Fana on the ground, conscious, but too weak to get up, standing above her was Ladros, but he looked incredibly different, his blond hair had a fiery red hue to it as it floated in the air, his hands all the way down to the base of his elbow changed color completely, becoming a fiery red as well, wings made of fire were on his back, and he was fully enveloped in a translucent red aura.
"No way, he actually absorbed a spirit?" Vanessa said in shock.
Fana began to slowly crawl away from him, towards the mineral mage. "M-Mars,"
The spiky-haired general also started to crawl towards her. "F-Fana,"
Ladros looked at them before giving one of his iconic crazy grins. "Aw, how adorable, did something happen between you two during the few minutes I was gone, well, I'll just leave you to do whatever you're doing," he then looked at the group of mages a fair distance away from him. "Because I'm going to take care of you people first,"
"Oh no you aren't!" a voice exclaimed, the spirit-infused basic mage turned to see Asta running at him. "I'm going to stop-," the swordsman was interrupted as a small bullet suddenly shot through his shoulder.
"Just wanted to get some payback quick, now we're even, Asta," Ladros said, his finger still pointed out as he watched the magicless mage drop to the ground.
"No, Asta!" Noelle exclaimed as she pointed her wand at the enemy. "Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!" At her call, the large serpentine dragon raced towards the blond general, its mouth open, ready to devour him in an instant.
"Hey, that's not a bad spell, I'd normally absorb it, but now, that's no longer necessary," Ladros said with a mocking tone at the end as he put a hand up and fired a powerful flame stream, the two attacks struggled for a few seconds, but it was obvious that the water mage's spell was no match, and sure enough, it was defeated.
"We need to act fast, Wind Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds - Winter Wind!" Fanzell then exclaimed as he shot a barrage of wind swords at his former student.
"Oh c'mon teach, don't underestimate me," Ladros said as he blasted smaller streams in quick succession, taking out every individual sword.
"I'm not underestimating you, and I'll show you right now!" the wind mage exclaimed again as he started running towards him.
"Running right at me? Let's see where that will get you," the spirit-infused basic mage said sarcastically as he blasted another one-handed stream at his former teacher.
"Don't worry, Fanzell, I've got you, Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel's Twin Gates!" Finral exclaimed as he formed the four portals, the first set looked quite strange as they were next to each other in a single file, the second set looked more like usual, with one aiming right at Ladros from the side, while the other was aiming at him from above.
Fanzell ran into the first portal as the stream went into the second one, the stream then came out of the portal aiming at Ladros from the side, but the blond general didn't look worried.
"Lame," was all he said as he carelessly raised a hand up in the direction the stream was coming at him, not even bothering to look at it as the stream was reabsorbed, and his mana detection picking up on Fanzell coming at him from above.
"Wind Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds - Gale!" Fanzell exclaimed while falling, ready to use the extra force to boost his attack.
"You know I could just absorb that attack, yet you try it anyway, getting desperate I see," the spirit-infused basic mage taunted as he limboed, just as Fanzell was landing, dodging the mage's attack completely.
"What the?" Fanzell muttered, shocked by his opponent's move.
"Wasn't expecting that? I bet you weren't expecting this either!" Ladros exclaimed as he quickly positioned himself upright and spun counterclockwise, slamming his heel right into the side of Fanzell's face as the wind mage was sent hurtling towards a tree, as he hit the trunk, he dropped to the ground, conscious, but unable to get up.
"That takes care of him, now it's time for you," he said as he looked at the remaining Black Bulls.
"Wrong," Vanessa said as she quickly bound him with her threads. "Finral, teleport everyone else out of here,"
"You act like I'll let you do that," Ladros said as he quickly freed himself before raising up both hands. "Now you can die," he released the strongest stream he's fired.
"Finral, Vanessa, get behind me, Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Lair!" Noelle exclaimed as she quickly casted her barrier spell, the blast hit it, but just a few seconds passed before a small explosion was heard and steam covered the battlefield.
"Woah, things are getting hot around here, I wonder how my enemies are faring?" Ladros quipped before asking rhetorically, but as the steam dispersed, he got his answer: the three magic knights were on the ground, in the same state as the mages from the Diamond Kingdom.
"Ah, victorious while my opponents lay on the ground like the losers they are, all things are as they should be, now, all that's left to do is finish you off, go find Brosnan, and find that Queen to complete this mission," he continued.
"Y-You're wrong, there's still o-one more thing you have to do before that,"
The sound of a voice caught Ladros off guard, as he turned around to see who the voice belonged to, he grinned, it was Asta, the magicless mage was starting to get back up, using the Demon-Slayer to aid him as he put the Demon-Dweller back in his grimoire.
"You have to defeat me!"
"So, you're back up, I must say, I'm impressed, I've never met someone with that kind of determination before," Ladros said, minorly praising the boy.
"That's right, no matter how many times I go down, I get back up, I'll never quit," Asta said adamantly.
"If you never quit, then that means I can take you down time after time again, and to be honest, that sounds like a lot of fun, so let's see how true you keep to those words!" Ladros exclaimed as he fired a stream at Asta, hitting him directly, propelling him feet away from where he stood.
"Ah, c'mon, what happened to not quitting, get back up, I only shot you once, I've got tons more left in me," he continued mocking.
Asta gripped the grass under his palm, he was going to stay true to his word, he wasn't going to quit.
"This has become quite the battle,"
The Witch Queen watched the battle go down between the spirit-enhanced Ladros and the group of mages, but she zeroed in on the magicless mage as he laid on the ground.
"If I'm not mistaken, his name is Asta, I still don't know how he found those swords or how he is able to use them. When I healed him with my cocoon, I was given control of his bloodstream. I assumed the reason he's able to wield the swords was because he has a special bloodline, relating to the race that lived long ago, but it seems I was wrong, for some strange reason, he can't use magic, but other than that, there's nothing about him that's out of the ordinary," she mused.
The blood mage watched as Ladros began mocking Asta, she put a hand under her chin. "Asta, I must learn more about you, but that can't happen if you die, so I shall offer you my assistance," she then put her hand up and clenched it.
Back outside, on the battlefield, Asta looked up at Ladros from the ground. "I can't lose to him, if I do, he'll kill the others, I wish Kenos was here, he might've been able to do something, I-,"
His muttering stopped as he felt a strange feeling in his chest, his heartbeat began getting stronger and stronger, until he could hear it, an odd black aura crept around him as the grass under his hand started to wither.
The black aura then began to surge around, warranting gasps of surprise from the others. "Asta?" Noelle muttered.
The surging aura then wrapped around the magicless mage, turning into a cocoon, Ladros' face showed genuine interest. "I'm not picking up mana from whatever that is, so is that anti-magic? Cool, it seems you learned a new trick, too bad it won't save you," the spirit-infused basic mage said as he blasted a quick stream at the cocoon, but to his surprise, nothing happened. "Okay, never mind, I guess it will save you, it seems I'll have to wait,"
Within the cocoon, Asta slowly opened his eyes. "Where…am I?" once they were fully open, his eyes widened in shock, the area around him was totally red, as far as the eye could see. "Oh crap, how did I get here, I got to find a way out!" he exclaimed, but he then noticed that he wasn't standing on solid ground either, in fact, he was floating. "Okay, this is weird, I just wish I knew what this place was,"
"If you want, I could tell you?"
The sudden sound of an unfamiliar voice caught the swordsman off guard, the voice was deep and sort of unsettling, and he was certain it was coming from behind him, so he turned around, but his eyes widened once more.
Before him was a ginormous figure, the shape of its body merely being a black silhouette, it had black fangs and a set of black horns and wings, by the sound of its voice, it was most likely male.
"Hello there," the figure spoke again.
Asta's eyes narrowed, almost as if he somewhat recognized whatever stood before him. "You look familiar, those features of yours, I remember reading stories about things like you when I was a boy. You're…a devil?"
The accused devil chuckled weirdly. "You always were smarter than the people around you gave you credit for, that is what I am, but I'd prefer it if you called me Roth,"
"Roth? Is that your name?" Asta asked again.
"No, but you can call me that for now, I'd rather not be called a devil, I'm not so fond of that name," Roth told him.
"Okay…Roth, where am I, and why are you here?"
"Where are we? Why, we're in your grimoire, this is where I've always been, watching you, and those friends of yours, I've known you for the longest time," Roth replied.
"For the longest time? Sorry, I'm pretty sure this is our first time meeting, and there are people I've known before getting my grimoire," Asta told him.
Roth chuckled again. "I suppose you're right,"
The magicless mage was starting to get annoyed. "I see…so why am I here exactly?" he asked.
"I don't know how you got here let alone why you're here in the first place, but this is a great opportunity," the devil said ecstatically as he extended his arms out.
Asta raised a brow. "How so?"
"I can see you're having trouble with that guy who absorbed the spirit, if you want, I'll defeat him for you…all you have to do is give me control of your body, sit tight and I'll handle everything, sounds great, right?" Roth explained before asking.
"What, no way!" Asta exclaimed as he pointed at the large black entity. "This is my battle, I'll do it with my strength alone! Besides, we just met, and my trust in you isn't as high as it could be,"
"So, that's your answer, well, I tried being polite and asking nicely, but since that didn't manage to persuade you, I'll just take your body by force, pipsqueak!" Roth exclaimed as he closed his hands around Asta's body. "Damn, that was easy, now all I have to do is-,"
Roth was in the middle of talking while he slowly opened his hand, but he was shocked to find that nothing was in between them. "What?!"
"Hey, over here!" the devil looked down at his arm to see Asta standing there. "I might be smaller than you, but don't you dare underestimate me!" he exclaimed before he started running up Roth's arm.
"Damn it, why are you making this difficult!" he exclaimed as he slammed his large black hand onto his shoulder. "There we go,"
"You said you've known me for the longest time, right?"
At the sound of that voice, Roth looked at his hand to see Asta climbing it, but a black substance began to engulf his right arm, all the way up to his shoulder.
"Then you should know the one thing about me that will never change…that I'll never give up, not to you, or anyone else!" Asta screamed as the black from Roth's hand began to travel into the swordsman's body as he let out a powerful roar.
"I wonder how long I'll have to wait, but then again, I guess I should be patient, it's only been about 20 seconds," Ladros commented, but then he saw the cocoon break open. "Ah, there you are, I knew you couldn't stay in there forever, let's get this-,"
The blond general's words were interrupted as he stopped midway, instead focusing on the enemy in front of him as he gasped, the left half of Asta's body looked perfectly normal, but the right side was a different story, his ash-blonde hair became a dark black, his green eye became red with a black mark going down from it, the entirety of his right arm was black, strange black strands were around his torso, looking like they were trying to make their way to his left side, but were unable to, a single decayed black wing sprouted from his back, a single horn coming out of his head, and finally, his sword had become fully black, with the rust of its apparent age no longer visible.
"What the hell?" Ladros muttered.
"Never giving up," Asta silently spoke, his voice sounding like it was a mix of his own and something more…demonic.
Everybody looked at him, not a single face not contorting in surprise at what stood before them, but then the looks disappeared as Asta spoke again.
"My magic…is never giving up!" he exclaimed as he flew straight at Ladros.
"What the hell happened to Asta, was he always able to do…whatever that is?" Finral asked, but he was met only with shaking heads.
From her palace, the Witch Queen watched. "You truly are fascinating, Asta, when I healed you earlier, as well as having control of your bloodstream, I was also able to see the flow of anti-magic in your body, it was quite low, so I broke the limit, causing the anti-magic to surge inside you, which resulted in that form of yours. But something's strange, anti-magic only seems to be covering half of your body, it's as if your willpower is keeping you from being entirely consumed, I suppose that's impressive, so show me what you're capable of,"
"Shit," Ladros cursed as he quickly flew up, dodging Asta's attack as he flashed right through where the general was just a few seconds ago. "Okay, something tells me this fight is going to get a lot more interesting, I guess that means I can get serious, Basic Magic: A.E Cannon Barrage!"
At his call, he fired the familiar attack, but this time, it looked different, the aura sphere was red and the bullets looked like smaller versions of Salamander's Breath.
Asta said nothing as he swiftly deflected the shots with minimal effort, he then looked up at Ladros and flew up to him.
The spirit-infused basic mage then flew back down, speeding through the ground as he started to enter the forest, a trail of flame forming where he once was.
"You're not getting away," Asta said as he flew after him in the same fashion, flying into the forest.
"I wonder if anyone is around here?"
Those were the words that came out of Anna's mouth as she and Kenos walked through the forest, the solar mage was helping the golden eye mage, her arm around his shoulder since she had trouble walking.
"I'm not too sure, it could be some time before we run into anyone," Kenos said back to her as he looked at the woman before looking straight again. "So, what about your armor, we had to leave it back at the place where we fought, do you mind losing it?"
"Oh, it's not lost," she replied, gesturing to the pendant around her neck. "My armor is enchanted, despite what happens to it, it will eventually repair itself, and my pendant will summon it from wherever it is,"
"I see,"
Anna looked at Kenos. "Now it's my turn to ask questions,"
"Okay, shoot,"
"Why did you want to help me? You already spared me after our fight, but now you're helping me, why, weren't you holding some grudge against me just a little while ago today?" she asked.
"It's true, I was really mad at you, but the fight's over now, I've avenged my captain, and besides, I only spared you in the first place because I don't want to take you from your family, and who knows what would've happened to you if I left you in that crater," Kenos replied.
"Wow, have I ever told you you're a strange boy?" Anna asked.
The solar mage chuckled. "No, just foolish," he said. "Say, since we might not run into anybody, could you….tell me about your family, I bet starting one is nice,"
An oddly sly smirk came to the golden eye mage's face. "Oh, is there a girl you're interested in?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that, there's no one I know who's into me like that, I was just curious about your family life," Kenos replied with a denying gesture.
"I see, well, my family life is fine, Lotus and I are happily in love, and we couldn't be more proud of our three daughters," the woman said.
Kenos looked down with a sad expression. "Couldn't be any more proud, aye? I bet that must be nice,"
"I take it there's something personal related to the matter?" Anna asked.
"You could say that, you see-," Kenos was about to reply, but was interrupted as something flew right past them. "What the hell?"
The flying figure stopped flying, causing Anna to widen her eyes. "Ladros? What happened to him, why does he look like that?"
"Take this, you damn brat!" Ladros exclaimed as he launched a large fireball forward.
"Who is he aiming at?" Kenos wondered aloud, but soon, his question was answered as Asta zoomed past them and deflected the fireball straight into the air, the expression on the solar mage's face matched that which his squadmates expressed earlier: total shock.
"Holy stinking shit, Asta? Is that you? Why do you look like that?" Kenos wondered quietly, but then something else caught his attention, it was his grimoire, it was flashing a bright orange, and the solar mage was getting a strange feeling from it. "It's flashing, just like it did in the Underwater Temple, but why?"
Ladros and Asta then flew away, not seeming to notice the two mages on the ground, Kenos looked at his grimoire to see that the flashing stopped. "Strange," he then looked back to Anna, who looked at him. "Something tells me we'd better hurry,"
Up in the sky, Asta and Ladros were still at it, the flying swordsman had gotten close enough and begun sending slash after slash, the spirit-infused basic mage did his best to dodge to close-range attacks, but one ended up getting through, forming a cut on his cheek.
"Damn it, he's quick," Ladros muttered as he quickly shot back down to the ground, but he soon saw Asta right on his trail, so he started flying again just as Asta landed, but the magicless mage quickly pursued him through the trees.
The blond general was starting to establish distance, he used this chance to turn around and pitch a stream of small fireballs, but to his surprise, Asta didn't even waste his time parrying them with his sword, he simply dodged them.
"Holy crap, it doesn't matter what I throw at him, he doesn't slow down," Ladros said to himself as he finally landed, not too far away, Asta did the same, slowly walking towards him with a mad look in his eyes.
"You truly are a strange person, Asta," the Queen said. "You have no magic, but that's what somehow lets you wield those swords, you're just a regular human, but you stand firm against any opponent, no matter how strong they are, in a world of special people, you're nothing special yourself, but, that's exactly what makes you special,"
"I'm done playing around, this is everything I've got!" Ladros exclaimed as he joined his hands together, firing the strongest flame stream he's ever made.
Asta' expression didn't change as he set the Demon-Slayer in front of him, like a shield while placing his normal hand on the side of the blade, using at as reinforcement, soon, the stream made contact with the blade, but the swordsman was undaunted as he easily continued walking towards his opponent.
"How the hell are you doing that?!" Ladros asked loudly as he kept firing, but it was obvious that it had no effect, so he took to the skies once more, Asta looked up, the ground cracked a bit under his feet before he skyrocketed after him.
The group of mages had seen the entire scuffle go down, but were too shocked to say anything, but eventually, Noelle opened her mouth, only saying one word. "Amazing,"
"Hey, everyone, I'm here!"
They all looked from the ground to see Kenos come into view, they suddenly regained their voices. "Kenos, you're back," Finral said with relief, but then he noticed the woman he was keeping up. "And who's this beauty, is she a witch?"
"Watch it there, casanova, I'm married," Anna said.
Mars knew her though. "Brosnan, you're okay,"
Fanzell's eyes widened. "Wait, Brosnan? You're a woman?"
"Correct, Kruger," Anna replied. "And it seems that Ladros has gone through a makeover,"
"I also saw Asta too, what the hell did I miss?" Kenos said before asking.
"Too much," Vanessa replied. "Can you heal us?"
"Sorry, I'm out of mana for now, used up everything fighting her," the solar mage replied, but then he looked at the sky. "But I don't think my help will be needed, Asta has got this under control,"
Everyone looked up too, seeing a red stream racing through the sky, and closing in right behind it was a black stream.
"This is the end for you!" Asta exclaimed as he got closer to the spirit-infused basic mage.
Ladros did his best to evade the magicless mage, but no matter what he tried, Asta would never be too far away. "No, no, NO! How can this be the end for me? I've gotten to where I am by not caring about the things and people around me, so why, why can't I defeat you?!" he screamed before firing another stream, but Asta bypassed it effortlessly.
"You may have disregarded the people around you to become what you are, but as for me, it's the people that raised me up, the people who pushed me further, the people who brought out the best in me over and over again, it's through them…," Asta began saying as his mind thought to everyone in his past who affected him for the better before his grimoire flipped to a blank page as text was inscribed on it. "...That I am strong!"
His speed then went up as he crashed into Ladros with his blade. "Anti-Magic: Black Meteorite!" he exclaimed as Ladros began zooming down towards the ground, crashing with tremendous force, the swordsman landed as well soon after.
"Damn...it, my crystal, it broke," Ladros muttered weakly, the spirit's power had left him, as well as all the magic he absorbed, causing his body to look withered, the basic mage looked up to see Asta's face, looking straight at him. "Is this how far my mindset could bring me? Well, I guess it's time for me to die,"
"What, no way!" Asta comedically exclaimed.
"Huh?" was the thought that went through everyone's head.
"I may have defeated you, but I won't kill you, you have to pay for everything you've done and the suffering you've caused, all death is is just a cheap ticket out!" the swordsman told him.
"What? So you won't kill me?" Ladros asked. "I hate the fact that I lost to him...but, a part of me is really happy too,"
"He wanted to spare his opponent despite everything he's done, that's so like you, Asta," Noelle thought with a smile.
Suddenly, Asta's strange form disappeared, causing him to look normal again. "Oh, it vanished, I wonder what that was anyway?"
"Hey, Asta!" the solar mage exclaimed.
"Kenos, you're back, and you're safe, what a relief, I guess that means everything is over," Asta said back.
"Not just yet," a voice said, Asta turned to see the Queen coming down to him, riding on a horde of crows before she landed. "That was quite the impressive battle,"
Asta grinned as he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, I appreciate it,"
The Queen merely nodded. "You must be injured though, Blood Recover Magic: Curse Breaking Blood-filled Cocoon," she said as the sphere surrounded Asta, healing his wounds before disappearing.
"Oh, thanks, if you could heal my friends too, we'll be on our way," the swordsman said to her.
"Oh, that won't be necessary...because you're not leaving, Blood Creation Magic: Fresh Blood Execution Ground!" she exclaimed as a large amount of blood covered the ground, crucifixes then rose out of the ground behind each person, suddenly restraining them by their wrists, ankles, and stomachs.
Asta saw that he was the only one not bound, he turned to the blood mage. "What are you doing?! Release my friends, or else you'll regret it!"
"Wrong, Blood Magic: Puppet's Blood," the Queen said as Asta started screaming in pain as his skin started to look cracked and his eyeballs disappeared, the swordsman then transformed back into his half-demon form.
"You are now under my power, Asta, and you will do whatever I command, for your first command…," the Queen began as she pointed to all the bound mages.
"...Kill them all,"