The Most Unruly Magic Knight Squad
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of The Fallen! Everyone's favorite, I think, magic knight squad is getting introduced in this chapter so look forward to a bit of fun! And if you're wondering about the status of my other stories, check out my Pat reon for news, scene samples, and other little goodies! And that's actually all the announcements I have, so with no guest review questions this week, on to the story!
The Clover Kingdom: Home of the Black Bulls Magic Knight Squad
The headquarters of the Black Bulls resided in the Common Realm, albeit a fair distance from Kikka Town. As far as dwellings went, it was certainly big enough. But much like the squad who inhabited it, the base was something of an odd sight. It resembled a gigantic house made of brick and stone with an asymmetric design and appeared to possess many floors on the inside. It was characterized by multiple windows on the front and several chimneys protruding from the slanted rooftops.
A single wooden gate stood at the front entrance. All things considered, if Asta hadn't known better, he might've assumed this house was haunted. He didn't voice these thoughts aloud, however, as the captain lit another cigarette. "What do you think?" He asked while blowing some of the smoke out of his mouth, "pretty sweet digs, right?"
"It's homey," the ashen-haired boy answered, "in a gothic sort of way."
"Well go on in," Yami encouraged, "the rest of the squad should be in there right now." Asta nodded and proceeded towards the door with Finral. The Black Bulls Captain, meanwhile, held back for a moment. 'No doubt the kid's an odd one,' he mused, 'that sword that can shut down magic and those odd powers that don't give off a mana signature. What's more, there's a second signature in his body, almost like another soul is in there.'
Interestingly this wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a thing. The Golden Dawn captain, William Vangeance, had a similar oddity going on with him. Problem was, only Yami could sense it given his mastery of an art known a 'Ki'. It lent him extra sensory abilities beyond magic sense, but that also meant no one else could feel what he felt.
'Guess it's the same situation,' he took another drag of his cigarette before walking towards the door with the others, 'I'll need some actual proof that the kid might be a problem. So I'll be keeping an eye on him. With luck, he's just another odd one like the rest of us.' Speaking of which, as Asta was opening the door, he leapt to the side as a fireball came shooting out of the house.
"I guess that's this squad's way of saying hello," he mused aloud while entering the house. Not long after that, another fireball destroyed the door and part of the wall. Megicula herself didn't know the cause of the second fireball nor was she interested in finding out. Currently, the demoness was still standing outside of the house, trying to distract herself from the presence of the spatial magic user.
Fortunately, she'd discovered a nice diversion by examining the house itself. Megicula could sense a magical presence emanating from the dwelling, one belonging to another occupant deeper in the base. 'That person is connected to this place,' she observed, 'I recognize this, a user of Recombination Magic.' It was a rather unique form of magic given that it seemed to extend to an already existing object.
In this case, the user was connected to the house and could reshape it in any number of ways if he so wished. Though by the look of things, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Much the same could be said for Asta as he and Yami entered the base, through the hole that had been blasted in the wall. Asta immediately found the environment to be a bit stifling.
The reason being was it was noisy, and the source of said noise was, naturally, the other members of the Black Bulls. There was a short girl chowing down like no tomorrow, a massive round man who seemed to be constantly emitting smoke from his mouth, another man who was obsessed with looking at a picture of something or someone, a drunk woman in her underwear, a boy with a crazed look in his eyes, and the one fighting the boy who also appeared to be the culprit responsible for throwing the fireball from earlier. In short, it was a chaotic mess. So chaotic, in fact, that the squad didn't even seem to notice the entry of their captain and the other members.
"Alright everyone, quiet down," Yami ordered and received no reply in response, "quiet down." Once again no one appeared to be listening to him. Naturally this wore on his already thin patience, so he strengthened his body with mana and slammed his fist into the nearby wall, completely obliterating it. "I said quit breaking stuff already!"
That did the trick as the Black Bulls finally noticed they were there and halted their activities. Instead of being apologetic or intimidated by the display, the occupant's reaction was excitement once they saw who it was. "CAPTAIN!" They all leapt up and gathered around Yami, bombarding him with questions all at once.
"Did you find an arrogant newbie that needs to be taken down a notch? Please sir, let me fight him today! Care to have a drink with me, forget these other brats. Try this cupcake, it's delicious. I can't take it anymore, please let me go see my sister." And the large one just growled.
'I am starting to question the wisdom of this decision,' Asta sweat-dropped.
"Nice to know how much you all missed me," Yami laughed before turning serious, "now shut up."
"Sorry sir," they all knelt down while apologizing, remaining seated as their captain continued.
"Alright," he held his hand up to indicate Asta, "this shrimp here is our other new member."
"'Other'," the ashen-haired boy looked at him in slight confusion, "you selected two new members today?"
"Go on, tell 'em your name or somethin'," Yami ignored his question.
"Right," he took a steadying breath, "my name is Asta from Hage Village. I look forward to working with everyone."
"Hage, that village out in the middle of nowhere," the flame wielding magic knight asked.
"You're surprisingly formal for a country boy," the drunk woman noted.
"Finral, introduce everyone, will ya," the Black Bulls Captain ordered.
"Sure thing," Finral contemplated his options, "I guess we'll start with Gordon Agrippa, you know him already." Indeed, he was the man with the military cap and eyeliner whose voice didn't seem to go above a whisper. "Then there's Vanessa Enoteca, tends to pick fights when she's drunk but she's good people." He was referring to the pink-haired drunk woman who Asta now saw really was only wearing red underwear and her Black Bulls cape.
"Picking fights while I'm drunk, I don't know what you're talking about," Vanessa denied before turning to him, "but you said you were from Hage, all the way on the outskirts of the kingdom?"
"Almost on the border," Asta confirmed. Vanessa, for whatever reason, decided to get uncomfortably close to say her next words.
"And you made it all the way here from a tiny backwater village to become a member of a magic knight squad," she purred with a hand on his shoulder, "you must've worked so hard, nice going kiddo. What do you say I give you something as a reward?" The response she received was not what she, or Asta, expected as the ashen-haired boy suddenly hissed like a cat, causing Vanessa to recoil in slight confusion.
"I'm sorry about that," Asta rubbed the back of his head, "I haven't been exposed to a lot of alcohol in my village, it's quite an overpowering smell." While internally, he was speaking with his other occupant. "Megicula what was that?"
"Don't trust such a loose woman," she crossed her arms with a 'hmph', "she smells like nothing but trouble to me." Her host might've said something in response to that if not for the fact that Vanessa suddenly started throwing up. "See, that's exactly what I'm talking about."
"Let's continue," Finral indicated the next Black Bull, a boy with messy blond hair and a grey shirt beneath his Black Bulls cape that reached well past his waist, "this is Luck Voltia, a battle freak who's addicted to fighting, but he's good people."
"Nice meeting you," he raised his fists eagerly, "so do you like to fight?"
"I've trained to fight, that doesn't necessarily mean," the Hage Village Boy held up his hand as Luck started playfully punching it.
"What do ya say, wanna show me some of that training," Luck asked eagerly.
"I mean I just got here," Asta shrugged, "shouldn't I get settled in first?"
"Hey," a tall man in a dark blue long-sleeved shirt under his cape whose brown hair covered one eye held up a picture, "see her? This is my sister, Marie, she's an angel."
"I'll take your word for it," the ashen-haired boy answered cautiously. The girl in the picture had short blond hair and wore a pink casual dress. Her smile indicated she was a sweet innocent girl but looks could be deceiving.
"Listen, if you lay a finger on her," the man's visible eye became bloodshot, "then you die!"
"That's Gauche Adlai," Finral explained, "loves his sister a little too much, but he's good people." He indicated the short girl whose hair was done up into a bun next. "This is Charmy Pappitson, a big eater, but she's good people."
"Nice to meet ya," Charmy raised her fist in the air while still eating her latest cupcake.
"And this is Grey," the spatial magic user introduced the big man wearing a black outfit with smoke coming out of his mouth, "I don't really get him but-."
"I know, he's good people," Asta looked down at the last member who hadn't been introduced yet, a man with black and grey hair, blue shades and a scar on his forehead. He was still kneeling, hence the boy looking downwards at him.
"And finally, this is Magna Swing," Finral introduced, "a street punk, but he's good people."
"It's nice to meet all of you," Asta bowed politely.
"There are some other members," Yami revealed, "but they're either out on missions or on leave or I don't know. Think you can play nice, newbie?"
"I don't plan on starting any trouble," the anti-magic user assured.
"Alright then," Yami pulled his cigarette out of his mouth to breath out some smoke, "take the kid out and give him a good workout, but try not to kill 'em."
"Can do, captain," even with his sunglasses on Asta could see the evil glint in Magna's eye.
A Couple Minutes Later: Outside the Base
"Alright village boy," Magna held up a Black Bulls cape, "you want this, you gotta earn it by completing every task I give you!"
"Understood," Asta nodded with a slight look of determination on his face. He still had the time to notice that the house was repairing the wall Yami had destroyed earlier. 'Must be the work of that guy Megicula told me about,' he pondered, 'I'll have to look for him later, right now I've got a baptism by literal fire to endure.' Most of the other Black Bulls were sitting on a couch which had been drug out for the event, save for a few members who remained standing.
"Now, let's go, go, go!" Magna yelled, "your first task is five thousand crunches!" The anti-magic boy immediately went down and began the exercise. He was then told to do five thousand push-ups, followed by holding a boulder above his head. Finally, he was told to break the boulder with his head which Asta did by channeling a wave of his anti-magic, turning the boulder to dust.
"So, how'd I do," he asked after destroying the boulder. He'd worked up a mild sweat but was still relatively good to go.
"You're pretty strong for a runt," the Black Bulls member admitted, "you've passed all but one of the tests. This last one is the most important part of your baptism. Use any skills at your disposal to dodge or defend yourself against my magic attack." Magna conjured a fireball in his hand for emphasis.
'I knew this whole thing was a farce,' Asta sighed as he opened his grimoire and drew his Demon Slayer sword. "Give me your best shot."
"Now that's what I like to hear," Magna grinned maniacally as the two stepped back several feet and took their ready stances. "You ready?!"
"Like I said," the anti-magic wielder deepened his stance, "hit me with your best shot!" The flame magic wielder obliged as he produced a flaming bat from his grimoire and began hitting numerous fireballs at the boy. Asta responded by planting his sword, temporarily releasing it as he bobbed and weaved through the onslaught.
"Well now, you're pretty decent," Magna observed.
"Am I decent or are you just throwing them wildly to try and scare me," Asta narrowed his eyes, "I've asked you twice now to hit me with your best shot, so when do you plan on getting serious?"
"Oh, you want serious," a tick mark appeared on the flame wielder's head as he charged up another fireball. This time it was so hot the boy could feel the heat from where he stood. "Try this one on for size, Flame Magic: Exploding Fireball!" He wound up like a pitcher and threw the flaming orb at incredible speed. In the short few seconds that followed, the sword wielder quickly went through all of his options.
'This attack is faster and far more powerful than any I've dealt with up to this point,' he quickly realized, 'given its explosive nature, the possibility exists that I'll still take damage if I just slice through it. Even if I could withstand it, Megicula would give me an earful for risking myself in such a way. Guess that only leaves me one option.' Asta shifted his sword and hit the attack with the flat of the blade, sending it flying back towards its user.
The surprised Magna didn't have time to dodge as the fireball hit him full force, causing a large explosion which spread smoke over the immediate area. 'Interesting,' Yami observed, 'so what happened at the stadium wasn't a fluke. This kid can cut through and repel magic depending on what part of the sword he hits it with.' As for Magna, the Black Bulls captain wasn't worried, he could feel his lifeforce from within the flames.
Not that any of them had to wonder long about the status of the flame wielder as he came stalking out of the smoke. "You," he growled, "what did you do? I was able to dispel that attack in time but, to think you nearly offed me with my own magic." Magna stomped over to Asta who calmly waited for what was to come next. Though even he was surprised when the magic knight put his hands on his shoulders and gave him a smile, "You're really good, I thought you were just going to block it but you sent it right back at me!"
"It's one of the properties of this sword," the anti-magic boy explained, "I haven't been able to test it against too many forms of magic just yet. Even reflecting magic like that is a new thing for me."
"Wait, have you not had that sword for very long," Magna raised an eyebrow.
"Just a few months," Asta shrugged, "I'm more practiced in what I used to destroy the boulder earlier."
"You've only had a few months and you're already that good with a sword?!" The fireball user exclaimed, "that's even more amazing! And you said you were from Hage, right? I'm from the sticks myself, Rayaka Village, just up from Hage."
"That is a long way out," the ashen-haired boy smiled. The other Black Bulls joined in then, congratulating him on passing the test, though Luck kept insisting on a baptism part two were he fought him.
"Alright, don't we have one last bit of business to take care of," Finral reminded everyone.
"Oh right," Magna held up the Black Bulls cape, "here you go. You earned this cape fair and square, Asta." Again the boy smiled before taking the cape and looking at the symbol on it.
"Now let's see how it looks," Vanessa waved a small wand, causing the cape to float and clip itself around Asta's shoulders, "and one last finishing touch." A headband formed after that, also sporting the Black Bulls symbol, "what do you think?"
"It fits perfectly," Asta smiled as the rest of the squad warmly welcomed him as its newest official member.
Later: Within the Hideout
"This will be your room," Finral informed as he opened the door, causing a small cloud of dust to rise, "sorry it's not in the best of conditions, but we don't have the staff to clean unused rooms."
"It's fine," Asta assured with a dismissive wave, "tidying this up shouldn't take too long, I'm happy just having my own room." He took a cursory glance around the new dwelling, noting it had a small table, a stool, a small window, a short bookshelf, and a bed that Megicula was currently sitting on. She did not look happy at this particular moment. In fact, her thoughts were downright murderous and the unfortunate cause was the guy he was currently talking too.
"Well I can give you some help with that," Finral opened a portal and pulled out some cleaning supplies, "this should make things easier. Again, sorry you have to tidy up but know that everyone's happy to have you as our newest member. Now, I'd best be getting back to the captain. He'll probably need me to transport him to the bathroom again."
Finral opened a larger portal and stepped through it then, leaving Asta alone in the room with the demoness. "Megicula," he tried to get her attention, "Megicula, talk to me." The newly inducted magic knight received no response as the winged woman continued to sit on the bed, staring listlessly at the floor. "Alright, I'm going to clean up then."
And so, he got to work, dusting and sweeping, getting cobwebs out of corners, scrubbing the floor, wiping the window and tidying up the furniture. Despite the fact they'd been sitting around for a long while the fixtures were still in remarkably good condition. While he did all of this, Asta focused on a state of peace, hoping it would help calm his dear demoness. After about two hours, everything was cleaned up, save for the bedding which still needed to be washed.
'At least I can sleep here without risking some kind of lung disease,' he mused with a nod. This moment of peace would not last, however, as he suddenly felt Megicula's presence influencing his movements. He dropped the broom he'd been holding, feeling the control of his body gradually slipping away. But something wasn't right.
Asta could feel her mental state, how disturbed it was. So he didn't fight back, there was no need. The demoness couldn't concentrate properly so the process was unstable, he could easily force her back if he desired to do so. But that would prove unnecessary.
Soon enough, her presence receded. It had, however, remained long enough for Asta to learn what her objective had been; kill Finral. Turning to the winged woman, he found she'd collapsed to her knees on the floor. Anyone else might've scolded her, but the anti-magic boy held his tongue and tried to think of something else to say.
He knew she might try something like this at some point. After all, she'd killed, terrorized and mentally destroyed numerous lives in her pursuit of escaping the demon prison. But she'd changed, Asta knows she had. So the first thing he needed to do was get her to tell him why she wanted to do this. He got his answer soon enough, but not quite the way he expected.
Megicula began laughing, hysterically. "You want to know why I'd want that bastard human dead," she gave him a manic look, "why not, I have every right to take his life after what happened. My people offered humanity knowledge, power, and all we asked in return was their trust and some of their knowledge. We only wanted to help them and form a positive relationship."
She stood up then, "it was only a theory among my people, something that no one would've considered because it was monstrous and immediately forbidden the moment it was thought of." The winged woman began punching Asta, who didn't react as she continued to rant. "But humans, they did it, ate one of my species and somehow, somehow they gained access to the advanced attribute that we possessed!"
Her laughter continued only this time tears flowed down her face. Asta wrapped his left arm around her as the demoness's laughter turned completely into crying, her head pressed against his chest. He didn't know how long she cried but eventually it settled down to quiet sobbing. When she looked back up at him, her eyes red and puffy, Asta wiped away her tears with his left hand.
"Sorry about all that," Megicula sighed before turning away, "I'm tired now and my time has run out. I have to go back." Her astral projection disappeared then, returning to her body in the demon prison. Asta would have trouble getting to sleep that night, his mind somewhat tormented by what he'd learned and some newly surfaced memories relating to the subject.
The Next Day
Asta awoke and stretched as he sat up in his bed. It didn't take him long to notice he wasn't the only occupant in the room. "Hey, are you feeling any better today," he asked, trying to be polite.
"I am," she nodded, sitting on the stool next to his desk, "once I calmed down, I realized something. I might not be able to forgive Finral's ancestors for what they did but there's no point in hating him for their actions. He didn't ask to be born with spatial magic just like you didn't ask to be born with no magic. Of course, it also helps to have a shoulder to cry on."
"I'm just happy I could help, even if only a little," Asta smiled, "though I think that's also a sign that you're changing a bit. You never would've rationally considered any of that before." Megicula simply rolled her eyes at that but still smiled at the observation. "Come on, it's our first day of magic knight business, we probably have plenty to do." He quickly got ready and stepped out into the hallway.
"Pole, Asta," Megicula warned, causing the boy to stop short as he looked up.
"Was this here yesterday," the anti-magic boy raised an eyebrow while trying to recall.
"No," the demoness shook her head, "this is a result of Recombination Magic. The building itself shifted around at some point during the night."
"Oh yeah, you did mention that," Asta recalled, "guess with all the excitement yesterday it slipped my mind."
"Hey, looks like you're up newbie," Magna called as he came walking down the hallway.
"Oh, Magna, good morning," he greeted, "do we have a mission today?"
"Someone's eager," the flame magic user noted with a grin, "but first thing's first, you need to learn your way around this place. Lucky for you, I'll be your tour guide for today, there's no one who knows this base's secrets better than me."
"That must mean there are some parts of this base that don't shift or at least remain largely the same," Asta put a hand to his chin in thought.
"Don't sweat the details and follow me!" Magna ordered as the two began running.
"Not that I'm complaining but why are we running," the ashen-haired boy asked.
"Don't sweat the details!" He repeated as the duo arrived at their first location, a large room with several wooden, rectangular tables lined up like a cafeteria. The wooden walls were adorned with various paintings, though the most conspicuous fixture in the room was the avid eater herself, Charmy. Next up was the communal bath which had extra hot water spilling out from gargoyle-looking heads in the walls. For whatever reason, Gordon was also in the stone baths.
"This water does not seem suitable for ordinary people," Asta noted as they also got in to take a bath. Admittedly, the Hage Village boy hadn't been able to properly bath in a while, so he wasn't complaining.
"Not for ordinary people, no, but for a Black Bull this should be nothing," Magna smiled, not seeming to notice the temperature at all. If Gordon felt it, he also didn't say anything. Then again, it would've been difficult to hear him anyway. Naturally they weren't allowed in the women's bath since they were men and the hallway to it was lined with trap magic to make sure they didn't try anything.
"I wonder if the water in the women's bath is just as hot as the men's," Megicula mused for a moment as their tour continued. Next up was the bathroom, which they only saw for a moment as Captain Yami was in there and in his usual 'kill any annoyances' mood. The two Black Bulls naturally beat a hasty retreat, heading to the next part of their tour: the beast room. It looked like a stone dungeon which was fitting considering there was a collection of especially nasty looking magic beasts behind reinforced bars that were almost the size of steel beams.
"Why are these here," Asta couldn't help but ask.
"It's one of Yami's little hobbies," Magna explained before flashing a wicked grin, "and Asta, I've decided to put you in charge of feeding them."
"Because I'm the newbie," the anti-magic user deadpanned.
"Naw, man, the job's an honor to have," the fireball user assured, "I personally hate to give it up. Anyway, they get fed in the morning and the evening. Go ahead, give it a shot." Asta rolled his eyes but did as he was asked. He got the meat and some tongs from the side of the room and slowly inched towards the cell.
As soon as he put the meat in, one of the beasts reached and bit him on the head. Naturally Magna laughed his ass off at the sight. "I'm glad you find this so amusing," Asta's muffled voice remarked from inside the beast's mouth. The next room they ran to was the Black Bull's library, which contained a grand total of three large bookshelves filled with books.
"This is hardly a library," Megicula crossed her arms, "but at least there's one room in this place that's both quiet and interests me."
"We'll stop by here again as soon as we can," Asta promised as they moved on to the next location; the rec room. At least that's what it was called but given the presence of numerous spiky instruments anyone with half a brain could tell that it was a torture room. But once again there was little time to think about it as their tour guide broke into a run down the next hallway. As before the anti-magic user had little trouble keeping up thanks to his own physical prowess.
Unlike before, however, Magna suddenly stopped short and Asta ran into him, knocking him over. The ashen-haired boy was about to express his annoyance at the sudden stop until he saw the source of the disturbance: a girl with silver hair done up in two pigtails, wearing a purple undershirt with a long-sleeved white shirt was approaching them. Her skirt was also unique as it split and hung down by her knees where the ends resembled feathers.
"How," Megicula spoke up suddenly, "how is Acier Silva here?" The answer to their question came when Asta noticed the Black Bulls cape she had around her shoulders. "Wait, I see now. Acier Silva was a member of the Silver Eagles. This girl must be her daughter."
"Oh good, your fellow rookie is here," Magna explained, "She's our other new member this year." Asta nodded in understanding as the girl walked through the door. But he wasn't paying as much attention as he could, being more concerned about what Megicula had just said. 'Acier Silva', a collection of images flashed through his mind of a woman who looked strikingly similar, but she was wearing a type of liquid metal armor clearly conjured by magic.
"You," the silver-haired girl's voice broke him from his thoughts, "what's a commoner like you with practically no mana doing here?"
"The same as you," Asta answered simply, "I passed the Magic Knights Exam. But come to think of it, I don't recall seeing you there. Then again-."
"Silence," she commanded, "you will not address me so casually. I am Noelle Silva, of the royal Silva house!"
"A royal," the anti-magic boy's eyes widened, "what are you doing all the way out-?"
"I go where I please," Noelle narrowed her eyes, "my business here as a magic knight is my own. However, my being out here does not mean you will not show me the respect due a royal. Kneel."
"Hold on," Magna intervened, "I think we got off on the wrong f-."
"I said kneel worms!" Magic power radiated out of her body, some of the most Asta had ever sensed from someone her age. The boy from Hage weighed his options. 'I don't want too,' he mused, 'but she is of a higher station than me and disrespecting royalty could have potentially negative consequences for not only me but my family as well.'
"That's not entirely true," Megicula chimed in, "while she is royalty her current station is that of a magic knight. She is your fellow Black Bull standing at the same rank as you, so you have no obligation to follow her orders. Only when she acts on official royal business will her rank supersede yours. Then and only then should you worry about the consequences of disobeying her orders."
'That is a fair point,' Asta admitted. "I'm sorry, Noelle, but I refuse," he stared back at her defiantly, "now that you're here your status as a royal doesn't matter, only your rank as a magic knight. And my name is Asta, not worm."
"Wait a second, that's right!" The Flame Magic User realized, "I'm your senior so even if you are royalty you can't order me or anyone else here around!"
"You think so," Noelle didn't flinch, instead holding up her hand, "it seems I need to teach you why royals are royals and commoners are commoners. The difference in our magic power should be enough to get the point across." A sphere of water formed in front of her hand and grew to twice the size of Asta's head. "Now, you'll realize the situation you're in!"
The ashen-haired took a fighting stance and gathered anti-magic into his right hand, intending to swat the attack away. But then the orb of water suddenly veered off course and engulfed Magna, pushing him against the wall. The sound of him gurgling could be heard for a couple seconds before the water ball dissipated, leaving his senior soaking wet. "What were you thinking you entitled brat!" He leapt up while putting his shades back on, "you just attacked a senior member!"
"It's your fault for standing in the wrong place," Noelle gave a 'HMPH!', "now then, I have more important matters to attend too, I can't waste any more time on worms." The royal turned and walked back out the door.
"Hey! You can't just soak your superior and walk off without an apology!" Magna moved to go after her but Asta put a hand on his shoulder.
"Call me crazy, but I don't think she was intending to hit you," he theorized, "her eyes were clearly locked on to me."
"Ah who cares where she was aiming," the fireball mage turned and stormed off, "Captain Yami's the only person who'd take on a crazy girl like that but he's still going to hear about this!" Asta simply sighed and followed him to see if there was anywhere else they hadn't yet seen on their tour.
Two Hours Later: Outside The Base
'It's really kind of funny,' the anti-magic boy mused while he walked along outside, 'I know it's not exactly the same but this forest reminds me of the one back home in Hage. That means there should be at least one or two good clearings for when I want to train outside.' Of course, he needed to familiarize himself with the area first, hence his little walk around the perimeter. Unfortunately, it was interrupted as a missile of water came flying towards him.
Asta quickly dodged out of the way and was extremely glad he did when he noticed the one to two foot crater in the ground the attack made. 'That's the same type of attack Noelle used earlier,' he noted, 'what's going on?' Possibly going against his better judgement the ashen-haired boy headed in the direction where it had come from. It didn't take long to locate the source as the sound of one impact after another told him he was going the right direction.
As he suspected, the source of the water missile was Noelle, who was apparently doing target practice. Or rather, she was attempting to do target practice. There was a bullseye painted on a nearby tree that was completely unscathed while the area around it was littered with water-filled craters. The reason as to why became clear when she fired off another attack and Asta was forced to dodge out of the way as it came flying at his hiding spot.
'So that is what happened,' he was finally able to confirm, 'she had been aiming for me but the attack veered into Magna. She played it off to hide the fact that she can't seem to control her magic.' A point made all the more clear as she continued to fire at the tree and miss each time, her frustration growing with each failed attempt. Eventually she had to stop, putting her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily, the sweat on her body an indication of just how hard she'd been working.
'She's too frustrated,' Asta decided to move into view, 'trying to do any sort of magic right now will simply prove fruitless until she calms down.' "Hey," he greeted, startling the water girl.
"What, how long have you been there?" She glared at him.
"Only a minute," he responded simply, "you-." But it was at this moment he realized he made a serious miscalculation. While it had been obvious the royal was stressed, Asta hadn't known what was running through her head. Laughing, mocking, jeering, it's what Noelle had become accustomed to up to this point in her life.
So when the ashen-haired boy was about to speak, that's what she expected to hear. But Noelle wouldn't allow it, couldn't allow this mana-less worm to insult her like everyone else! "NO!" She yelped while holding her hands up, "take this!" A much larger orb of water than the ones she'd produced up to this point appeared.
But in her already stressed state and with her lack of control, it did the opposite of what she wanted and engulfed her. "Noelle, stay calm and dispel it!" Asta yelled, immediately realizing the danger she was in. His pleas fell on deaf ears, unfortunately. The royal couldn't hear him, trapped in her own magic which was rapidly expanding. Before long the orb was the size of a small building, hovering high in the air.
Complicating matters further, tendrils of water reached out from the orb and started thrashing about in the air and towards anything nearby on the ground. Asta had to jump and dodge out of the way of these tendrils, producing his sword from his grimoire in order to cut through the ones he couldn't evade. 'Even with anti-magic augmenting my body I don't think I can jump that high,' the sword wielder surmised.
"Retreat to the Black Bulls base," Megicula advised, "in her current state, the girl will drown herself long before you're able to reach her on your own."
"Right, maybe someone can fly me up on their broom," Asta surmised as he rushed into the foliage, bobbing and weaving around both trees and tendrils of water. When he reached the edge of the forest he leapt up to dodge another tendril, the force of the impact sending him flying much farther than he originally anticipated. He was stopped from landing, however, when a familiar massive hand grabbed him in midair.
"Hey kid, nice timing," Yami greeted while still holding him off the ground, one-handed. The other Black Bulls had already exited the base, drawn out by the commotion. "I guess you already know about our problem up there?"
"It's Noelle," he informed, "she's lost control of her magic."
"So that's what happened," the Black Bulls Captain smirked, "well, now you can do something about it."
"That was the plan," Asta nodded, "I was hoping one of you could fly me-."
"This way will be quicker," Yami focused mana into his arm. The anti-magic boy felt him pull the limb back.
"You're an unpleasant man Yami SUKEHIROOOOO!" The ashen-haired boy yelled the last part as he was thrown like one of Magna's fireballs straight at the watery construct. "But fine, I'll make this work too!" He concentrated his anti-magic through his blade, extending it outwards as much as he could.
He swung the blade then, slicing into the water and causing it to disperse, leaving only a mass of water droplets. Noelle opened her eyes then as Asta maneuvered close to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Hang on," the sword wielder told her calmly. Truthfully, he had no idea if this next part was going to work, but he concentrated anti-magic into his legs, hoping it would be enough to break their fall.
Fortunately for the both of them, a portal opened up before they hit the ground. Asta had just enough time to place his sword beneath his feet as they came flying out of another portal vertically. The weapon impacted and slid several feet with Asta balancing on it like he'd seen Yuno balancing on his broom. It wasn't perfect, however, and he eventually fell off, turning in such a way that he landed on his back while still holding onto Noelle.
"Ow," the anti-magic boy groaned, "thanks for the save, Finral. I might've broken both legs if I'd tried my idea."
"Anytime," the spatial magic user smiled with a thumbs up.
"Very well, I hate you slightly less now," Megicula commented while standing among the Black Bulls. She knew he couldn't hear her but it was worth the humorous smile it got out of Asta as he helped Noelle off the ground.
"Hey, are you alright," he asked the royal girl as she managed to reorient herself. She then looked away, clearly ashamed of what had just happened. "You should know," Noelle flinched as if she was about to be struck, "that was the most amazing feat of magic I've ever seen." The royal looked back at him in surprise. "Seriously, I have this amazing friend of mine with incredible magic power and he couldn't pull something like that off. If you can do that now, then you'll be unstoppable once you get the hang of controlling your mana."
"Wo-," she started to say, "I mean, Asta."
"Out of curiosity you aren't planning on becoming the Wizard, well Queen in this case," the anti-magic user asked, "I've already got some stiff competition. I'll have to work extra hard if you're aiming for that spot too."
"Forget that," Magna interrupted, "now I feel bad for even getting mad. Your only problem is you can't control your magic power? Come on, we're the Black Bulls, a whole squad of failures with issues of our own. You having a weakness or three doesn't matter to us."
Vanessa took this moment to move the Black Bulls cape Noelle had lost during the confusion back onto her shoulders with her wand. "Just so you know, I happen to be particularly gifted in controlling my magic power so I can teach you," the drunk woman offered, "and also give you some womanly advice." The other Black Bulls offered their own encouragement as Asta held out his hand.
"So what do you say," he smiled, "let's do our best together." Noelle blushed as tears of joy threatened to fall. But she reached out and shook his hand.
"I…look forward to working with you," the water mage declared with a look of determination. Asta might've said something else but Megicula suddenly hugged his neck from behind and hissed at Noelle like a cat. 'Oh boy, this could be a problem,' he sweat dropped.
Later That Evening
"You know," Asta spoke up without lifting his head, "there's no need to watch the hallway. I doubt she'll come sneaking down here." The reason his head was down was due to him currently being engrossed in his latest sketch. He hadn't had many moments to draw lately and today had given him a little inspiration.
"Can you blame me," Megicula crossed her arms while leaning against the wall, "thanks to that little act of heroism you pulled, Acier Silva's daughter is smitten with you."
"I did notice that, yes," the ashen-haired boy nodded, "but there's no need for you to be protective. Noelle is my fellow magic knight, a comrade and friend but that's as far as it goes."
"You'd better tell her that before it gets worse then," the winged woman hugged him from behind and whispered the next part in his ear, "after all, you belong to me, and no one else."
"I gave you my heart and soul, didn't I," Asta smirked, "that hasn't changed, even now. Besides, I think you can be kind of cute when you get jealous." He held up the picture he'd been working on then. It was a sketch of a library with him resting in a comfortable chair, holding a book at eye level. But the draw of the picture was a cat in his lap who possessed wings and horns.
"That's what you think of when I hiss at someone," Megicula pouted, "at least make me a tuxedo cat."
"Yes dear," Asta grinned cheekily before the two burst out laughing. It had definitely been an eventful first day, but any doubts he had about joining this particular unruly squad had been dispelled. It was going to be an interesting career.
And so the Black Bulls have been introduced, and so has some possible competition for our demoness. Will Noelle sway Asta's heart, we'll just have to see. In the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! Also, remember to check out my Pat reon for news, scene samples and other little goodies pertaining to my writing works! Stop in next time as our hero embarks on his first mission! 'Til then.