Disclaimer: Some pretty intense violence ahead and manga spoilers.
"D-Don't die, Asta...!"
Words like that filled this bright void. Words of encouragement. Words of hope. Words of comfort. However fragile they always came. Yet they always were for naught. Every time he failed.
Every.
Time.
No matter what, he would fail. It didn't matter if he had achieved full submission of his demon, or bonded to a new level. Every time he would fall. Wether it was to Zagred or Lucius himself it did not matter one bit.
By this point it was becoming annoying, nerve wracking. There was only so many times she could do this. Send him back. Hope and pray he'd get stronger. Extend her grace to him hoping it'd be enough.
It wasn't, and so she decided enough was enough. Consequences be damned. She wasn't about to let a mortal try to play god. If the demons wanted to have a champion in the form of Lucius, she would have one in the form of Asta.
~Devil Gamer~
Long ago, in a time before time, there was the void. An empty space devoid of anything, except for two beings. One comprised of primordial light, and the other comprised of primordial shadow. Both existed in harmony, for they had no thoughts, no conscious. They simply were.
But as the birds eventually developed the ability to fly as they grow, these beings developed a conscious. They came to see the other as an enemy, as someone who could extinguish the other. A battle ensued. The results of this battle was the universe.
Stars, remnants of light cast away. The vast emptiness between? Remnants of that primordial darkness attempt to blanket everything in darkness. This was the first battle of light vs darkness.
Overtime each would grow more and more, donning a physical representation of themselves. The darkness would come to be known as Sarius, the first demon king. His line would lead to Lucifero.
The light would come to be known as Seyal, the first ruler of the heavens. His line, would lead to the current ruler, Samara.
~Devil Gamer~
Samara waved her hand, the space in the bright void she resided in now looking much more approachable. A small room was created, with a table, three seats, a small couch in the background, and a few paintings. The paintings depicted key events in Asta's current life.
She sighed, her form morphing from it's current incomprehensible one, to a form that resembled a woman elf. Blonde hair, fair skin, sharp features, and pointed ears. A major difference was the six wings adorning her back, along with her eyes. Her pupils were that of an orb with multiple bands encircling it.
She sat at the chair opposite of the others, crossing her legs and leaning back. The back of her chair was purposefully designed to give space for her wings yet also support her back.
So she waited, and soon both of the guests she was expecting had came. Both had confused looks on their faces, both assuming they had died. Samara held her hand up before the could speak.
"Yes, you did die. No, that is not the end. I will explain it all in a moment. First, you two must be famished. Please help yourselves." She said as with a wave a spread of food appeared in front of them.
Both had skeptical expressions on their face, but when they realized Samara was going to speak no more, they slowly ate. What they found was the food was good, unnaturally so.
"I'll start by Introducing myself. My name is Samara, and I am the ruler of heaven." She said as asta spat out the drink he had been gulping, coughing in the process. "H-heaven?!" He exclaimed as Liebe simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. I have been watching over you two closely for a long time. I have seen you fail countless times before. Some like what happened here." At that she paused. With a snap of her fingers a screen appeared behind her, showing what led to their arrival.
~Devil Gamer~
Asta panted, weakly grasping the sword in his hands. Blood slowly trailed down his arm, forming a trail as he weakly stepped forward. His vision blurred, blood dripping into his eyes mixing with extreme exhaustion made him practically blind.
Still he stepped forward. He had too. Yuno and Mereoleona were fighting Lucifero, consistently loosing more and more ground the longer the fight went on. If he didn't step in, this fight would be over. This kingdom would be over. He couldn't let that happen. No, he wouldn't!
Liebe, equally beaten down, was kneeling on his shoulder. His eyes lidded from exhaustion, he forced his head up, the form of Lucifero flashing before his eyes. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. "A-asta."
Asta glanced down at liebe, hoping that was enough to convey he was listening. "Are you truly prepared to do anythung it takes to win?" Liebe cryptically asked as Asta mentally paused. "I am. Even if it kills me. I won't let Lucifero destroy everything I love. I know I can trust Yuno to lead the clover kingdom if i do die." He stated, gripping his sword tight.
Did he want to die? Heavens no! He wanted to become the wizard king. He wanted to help society recognize peasants and treat them like humans! There was so many things he wanted to do before he died, but if this was his time, he'd make sure to take Lucifero with him!
At that Liebe smiled, before he rose to his full chibi height. "Alright. What we're about to do will probably kill us both. I won't lie to you either, it'll hurt, a lot for you." Liebe said with a now sorrowful tone. Asta thought gave a curt nod. "If that's what it takes."
A miniature sword made out of anti magic formed in front of liebe. He grabbed it, like asta usually grabs his to go into his black form.
"Copy what I do asta!" Liebe commanded as Asta immediately followed. Doing the same pose, asta felt his heart beat, adrenaline starting to course through him. Speaking in a tongue asta could not understand, liebe chanted. That was until liebe stopped. "Asta, i'm glad you were the one I was bound too" he muttered before glaring up at Lucifero.
"And take him down for me! I hereby relinquish all limits to the one i know as my brother! In return, I offer my Life!" Liebe called out, garnering the attention of Yuno and Lucifero. Mereoleona took the distraction as an opportunity to get in a sneaky right cross. Lucifero sneared as his head was tossed to the side.
Asta though felt anti magic rush through him, at a rate previously unknown to him. But he didn't miss what Liebe said. He glanced down, watching in horror as Liebe's body began to turn into Anti magic itself. "Asta. This power i'm giving you isn't without it's downsides. This power will temporarily lift all limits you have on Anti Magic. But your body can't handle this. It will kill you" Liebe said with a pained grimace as Asta's gaze hardened. "Understood!" He called out as Liebe smiled up at asta, now only his upper body remaining. "Good, now go kick his ass! I better not see you on the other side till then!" Liebe said as his final goodbye before he was gone.
The anti magic formed around him, encircling him in a dome of anti magic. After a few seconds the dome cracked and exploded, revealing asta, crouched low with his demon slayer sword resting on his shoulder. He was clad in Knight's armor with a black cloak. On his back were two large wings, each just as big as himself. A glare cut through the thin visor of his helmet towards Lucifero.
At that exact moment Lucifero's eyes widened as he suddenly felt his power drop significantly. Then, in a show of speed that shocked all three current fighters, Asta appeared in front of Lucifero. He swung his sword down, Lucifero just managing to lean back enough to avoid the slash. Still he was close enough to feel the blade slice the air like butter.
At that moment Mereoleona shook herself out of her stupor, launching a right cross to Lucifero who was sent rocketing to the side. Yuno followed up, using his star magic to teleport behind Lucifero. He swung his sword, noting with growing hope his sword cut into Lucifero. Not enough to be fatal, but enough nonetheless. Yuno sent a kick at Lucifero's back, sending him back to both Mereoleona and Asta.
All three began to Jump Lucifero, who grew more and more angry. It made no sense! He, the demon king, couldn't keep up! He sent a wave of gravity towards Mereoleona, grinning for a split second when he saw her grit her teeth and nearly crumple. Then her struggle was gone. The pain in her expression swapping for a feral grin towards lucifero.
Lucifero's face contorted in annoyance and rage. He parried a right cross from Mereoleona before getting blindsided with a sword strike from asta, cutting deeply into his arm. He was sent soaring, his forearm held on by a thread. A star shot toward the soaring demon king at breakneck speeds. Once close enough the star swapped for Mereoleona who, with her arm reared back, roared. "CALIDUS BRACHIUM PURGATORY: ABYSS!"
A stream of fire magic surged around Mereoleona as Lucifero was subjected to a barrage of punches. Each one burned more and more of his body, until the last of the punches revealed a scarred and battered Lucifero.
At that point Mereoleona collasped, her eyes wide as she began to not even feel her body anymore. Lucifero gave a pained sneer. "A pity, it seems your body can no longer hold its physical form." But before he could capitalize on Mereoleona's vulnerability, she was teleported away by Yuno's star magic and in her place Asta stood with sword poised at his side. He glared at the demon king, who at that moment showed true fear. This is where he'd fall, this is where he'd be defeated. At it would be at the hands of a damn low rank demon and his peasant magic-less brother!
Asta's demon slayer sword surged with anti magic as he roared. "BLACK DIVIDER!!!" And with that he swung, the blade slamming into Lucifero side, cutting deeply into him. He screamed in anger and agony, but still fought against the blade.
From his opposite side Yuno appeared, his own sword glowing as he swung at Lucifero. "RAAHH" Yuno roared as Lucifero succumbed to the might of both. His body was sliced into 3, his face forever holding the look of agony and rage.
Yuno's sword dematerialized as the momentum of swinging his sword caused him to crash onto the floor. Breathing heavily, he gave a breathless laugh as he came to terms with the fact it was over. They had won.
He expected to hear Asta give a laugh, but when he heard the sound of Asta's demon slayer sword clang to the ground panic surged through him.
It was at that moment the first of those who survived rushed to the scene. The gasp from her lips gave away who it was instantaneously.
"ASTAAAAA!" Noelle cried out, rushing forward and catching the short boy. His armor dispersed, clad only in his pants. His skin was sickly pale, black veins etched across his skin. His face was contorted in pain, only easing when he felt Noelle's arms around him.
"N-no...elle?" He rasped out as Noelle gently lowered them onto the ground. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she held asta close. "I'm here asta! I'm here! Don't worry, we'll fix you right up! Mimosa is on the way!" She said as Asta weakly raised his arm, cupping her cheek. Noelle instinctively cupped his hand, lip trembling. "Its...okay. I...knew this...would...h-happen." Asta spoke as Noelle's tears grew. "Then why!? Why dumbasta!? If you knew you'd die then why!?" She screamed as the other black bulls, helping Yuno over, arrived.
Asta gave a small smile. "T-to...protect...you...all." At that asta's breathing grew more shallow. Noelle clutched his hand tighter. "Please...don't go!" She sobbed as asta fought to stay awake. It was a loosing battle though. Some limits just couldn't be surpassed it seems.
"I love you, Asta. I-I've wanted to say it to you for so long. I'm sorry it took me watching you die to gather the courage." Noelle spoke in a pained tone as Asta's eyes widened slightly.
"N-noelle...thank...you..."
His chest stopped raising, his eyes glossed over. Noelle wailed, her head burrowing into asta's chest. Mimosa crouched beside her, holding her cousin tight as her own tears streamed down her face.
Yami looked at the scene, lip trembling as tears pricked at the side of his eyes. "Damn it..asta!" He cursed, the remaining black bulls gathering around their fallen teammate and each showing extreme amounts of sorrow.
The one who showed the most sorrow other than Noelle though collapsed to his knees. He looked up to the sky, a defeated expression showing on his face. Sylph sat on Yuno's shoulder, hugging the young mans cheek. "I'm sorry Yuno" she spoke softly as tears streamed down Yuno's expressionless face.
The day that normally would have resulted in celebration was now marred with the death of a comrade, a friend, an unrequited lover, and a brother.
~Devil Gamer~
"This was what happened with your timeline." samara stated as Asta looked at the now frozen screen. His eyes glossy from unshed tears he nodded stiffly. "I...I wish I had known. After watching i've realized my feelings for Sister Lily were shallow. In fact no, i realized a while ago. I don't know when exactly the image changed from Sister Lily to Noelle, but i began to imagine her as the one i'd spend my days with." Asta spoke, capturing Samara's attention.
"I had actually planned on asking Sister Lily out one last time. As a way to truly accept to myself. I knew she'd reject me again, yet for once it didn't fill me with a want to prove her wrong. Instead the thought filled me with relief." He said as Liebe gave a sigh of relief, slapping his brother on the back. "Bout time ya realized sister lily as a lost cause. Damn shame it was in the afterlife though" he quipped as Asta gave a chuckle.
Samara cleared her throat, capturing the two boys attention. "I thank you for your speech, Asta. I think those feelings will serve you well. Especially as you two aren't staying in the afterlife long."
At that the two perked up. "What do you mean?" Asta questioned as Samara smirked. With a snap of her fingers asta's grimoire flew into the sight of both Asta and Liebe. "Exactly that. I'm sick of that bastard Lucious winning. You may have not fought him here, but this entire event was his orchestration. As such i've decided to take drastic measures. I'm sending you two into an alternate time line. But not without some extra benefits. This is the benefits." She gestured to asta's grimoire, where text was being written currently.
~Welcome to Devil Gamer, an interactive reality management override system only visible to you two (And others of your choosing once the feature is unlocked)!~
~You're probably asking what the means. In simple terms Devil gamer turns the world itself into a progress-able format. It tracks your progress in growth, with people, and in quests. It also grants you the ability to interact with the world in ways never thought possible.~
~With Devil Gamer you will have access to information previously locked. Some examples are
-Your level (A number representing how strong you are),
-Your Stat points (Numbers representing how good you are in certain aspects),
-Your reputation (How well liked you are amongst the people in the world).
Cultivate these and you will grow beyond what you thought capable~
~You will also be able to access different skills and utilities.
-A map feature depicting any area you've explored will be visible to you two for example.
-A page dedicated to detailing any skills you have. All skills can be grown by simply using them. You can acquire skills by discovering them. Even reading can become a skill and this system would recommend using that to your advantage. Having a skill in something makes learning that action easier and brings in faster results.
It is wise to cultivate your skills and use your utilities to your advantage~
~For now that is all that will be said about Devil Gamer. You will learn more as you grow!~
And with that Asta's grimoire shut, said boy blinking before nodding. "I sort of get it!" He announced as Samara, aware that he in-fact did not really get it, nodded anyway. "Good, I will send you two into a timeline extremely similar to the one you were just in. Same upbringing. You will be your 15 year old self Asta, right after you gained your grimoire. Oh, and in this timeline your crush with sister lily never developed don't worry." She waved off Asta's next question.
With that the duo stood, Liebe taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Samara. We won't let you down." Liebe stated with certainty as Samara gave them a smirk. "I know you two won't, the game is in your favor afterall. Now go. We will speak once more when you're farther along your journey!" Samara told the two boys as asta gave him her a strong nod. Liebe simply grinned as a bright white light engulfed them both.