Chapter One-Hundred Eighteen: One of Us

"There's the monster!"

"Look at the mess he's caused!"

"Dirty peasant rat!"

"Don't forget that little bitch with him!"

Asta and Secre were quickly bombarded by the various tirades made against them by the other members in the stands, but what confused them the most was that they didn't know why it was even happening in the first place.

"This is certainly a predicament," the girl thought as she side-eyed the swordsman, his face oddly composed, but in a second, he took a deep breath.

"STOP TALKING!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "COULD I PLEASE GET SOME QUIET HERE?! I'M TRYING TO THINK!"

His outburst managed to silence the whole building, but alas, it was only for an instant as the enraged congregation retaliated, meeting his somewhat polite request with pure vitriol.

"How dare you talk to us that way?!"

"Do you have any idea who we are?!"

"You should be executed for that alone!"

From atop the steps, Damnatio quietly watched the situation unfold with an indifferent expression, but in time, he put up his free hand, the Parliament falling silent immediately, so much so that the mere sound of his footsteps descending the stairs echoed throughout.

"I take it the thing you're trying to think about is why you're here?" he guessed as he reached the bottom, now on an equal level with the detained. "I'll answer that for you. Asta, you stand accused of being the one responsible for last night's events,"

The magicless mage couldn't believe what he just heard, and Secre was just as shocked. "That's ridiculous,"

"You better believe it's ridiculous, I had nothing to do with that!" he vehemently denied it. "Do you really think I have the power to reincarnate elves into people?! I don't even have magic!"

In response, the scale mage nodded. "You speak the truth there, you don't have magic, and you yourself wouldn't be capable of such a feat…but that isn't the case for the devil you're serving, they're the one responsible for that part, at your behest, of course,"

"What? Is he talking about Roth? No, that can't be, I've never even met this guy," Asta tried to deduce who he was referring to, but for now, he had to claim innocence. "You're spouting a bunch of nonsense!"

"I don't think I am, in fact, I have some pretty reliable sources," he retorted, the perspective shifting to a top section of the courtroom where Augustus was sitting on a small throne, Sekke standing right next to him.

"What a shame, I let that peasant into my Royal Knights team and this is how he repays my generosity?" he spoke aloud with smug confidence. "Well, now that anarchist rat will pay the price, and it's all thanks to me. Oh, I can't wait to see what method they choose to kill him. Are you curious too, Sekke?"

The bronze mage jumped a little. "Uh, of course, but…I like being surprised,"

"As do I,"

Sekke's face portrayed a little calmness, but his inner demeanor was a different story. "Holy shit, this king is more bloodthirsty than I thought. I'm no member of the Asta fan club, not by a mile, but I don't want him to die, but if I tell the king that, he'll probably execute me, and I'm too handsome to die," he thought. He then tried to change the subject. "Your Majesty, I'd like to talk about your decision to appoint me as your Royal Aid,"

"What? Do you not like it?" he asked, and strangely enough, there wasn't an accusatory tone behind it.

"I-It's not that, I like it a lot and I'm very honored, but it's just…I'm part of a squad, I can't just leave them,"

Augustus waved away his concerns. "Leave that part to me. You're a part of the mantis squad, are you not? I'll notify Jack and tell him you'll be working as a part of my entourage for a while,"

"I see, thank you," his voice was humble, but his mind was smug. "Hell yeah, I'm going to be living it up!"

Shifting perspective to the matter below, Asta raised a brow. "Sources? And who are these people?"

"I'm not obligated to disclose that information to you," was the response.

The teen narrowed his eyes. "Fine, don't tell me, but if you can bring in people to accuse me, I can bring in people to defend me,"

"And they are?"

"Why should I tell you?" he spat.

Damnatio chuckled, a rare sight. "Don't try to compare us. I am the Chairman, my authority allows me full transparency in the information of witnesses, so please, spare me the mystery,"

"Fine. I want the Black Bulls to be here. They were all there on the front lines last night,"

The royal walked around the platform where the detained stood. "Ah yes, the Black Bulls, the worst squad in the kingdom," he eyed the robe Asta had on. "Your squad, who would have no trouble lying or doing whatever it takes for you to be deemed innocent. I don't deem them proper witnesses,"

"You can't do that!"

"I most definitely can, that is…," his eyes transitioned to the crowd. "Unless the majority votes to overrule my objection," he said as they immediately gave their answer with a united shout.

"Nay!"

"Very well, the nays have it, my objection is sustained. Besides, I'm only speculating that they'll come to your defense and lie, but if they're smart, they won't,"

"Huh?" Asta was flabbergasted. "What makes you say that?"

Damnatio snapped his fingers, a parliament mage coming forward with a newspaper in hand, giving it to him. The royal then held it in front of the accused, letting them see the cover of the inflammatory article. "By this point in the day, this will have circulated across the entire kingdom, meaning your squad will have seen it as well. If I were them, I'd distance myself as far as I could from you to make sure I don't get caught in the crossfire,"

"You bastard!" the swordsman roared. "How dare you say that about them?! They'd never turn their backs on me!"

The scale mage shrugged. "Maybe they wouldn't," he then closed the distance, their faces mere inches from each other, his calmness contrasting the boy's rage. "Or maybe they would,"

Their silent clash of stares persisted for another few seconds before Damnatio relented, placing his scale inside his grimoire before snapping his fingers again as he was now given a folder that he opened. "I requested your citizen records before you were brought here, and it's quite an interesting read. Your first name is Asta and you aren't listed with an attribute due to having no magic, but your last name is unknown, as well as your family history, and with good reason, after all, you are an orphan,"

In a twist that would sicken any normal person, the elites in the crowd laughed loudly at that piece of information.

"So, he's an orphan too, huh?!"

"His parents really abandoned him!"

"I can't blame them though! If I had a son with no magic, I'd abandon him too!"

Secre just stared at them in disbelief. "What's…What's wrong with these people? Are they even human? They'd never say this about one of their own, they're only doing it to Asta because he's a commoner. Even now, this kingdom is plagued by classism and discrimination. Will it ever end?"

Damnatio put up his free hand, silencing the crowd for a second time. "It further states that you were taken in by a church in Hage Village, a run down and dilapidated dump, where you were raised all your life,"

Asta silently growled, not at the insults hurled at him, but from the brief one spoken about the place he called home. "Alright, spill it. What's your deal? Why are you reading all this stuff about me?"

"The reason is very simple and straightforward, it's pretty much obvious you're responsible for the catastrophe, now I'm just sharing some crucial context with the court so we can determine your motivation," he replied.

"For the hundredth time, I didn't do it, and I didn't have any motivation either!"

"You don't? I beg to differ," the chairman closed the folder. "You're an orphan who lived an awful life in the Forsaken Realm, barren to the most common ability humanity possesses, unaware of who you really were, forced every day to realize that you were nothing in this world, always watching the higher realms from afar, living lives you could only dream of,"

"What's your point?"

"My point is that it'd be very easy to build up resentment toward the kingdom and all of us who stood at the top…so much so that you sought out a devil to strike back at us!" his voice was calm until it raised itself during the last part as he pointed at the magicless mage. "Don't you find it strange that these alleged elves only attacked the Noble and Common Realms? They never went any lower,"

Asta banged his fists against the banister. "That's a load of crap! The Forsaken Realm was attacked too! One of them even targeted my village!"

The man crossed his arms. "Oh? Can you provide any evidence?"

"You better believe I can! Ask anyone in Hage what happened, they'll tell you!"

"Ah yes, the residents of Hage, more people who will likely give false testimonies of your innocence, they're also better off distancing themselves from you, the servant of a malicious devil," Damnatio remained as composed as ever as he countered the declaration.

"I don't serve any devil, I only-," Asta was about to say before Secre came to his side.

"Be careful, try to keep any mentions of Roth from surfacing, or else they'll pounce on it for sure," she whispered words of warning as he nodded back.

"As I was saying, there was a devil responsible for all of this, but he wasn't on my side. It was a creep named Zagred, he made a super complicated plan that resulted in people getting possessed, all so that he could destroy the world! I'm telling you the truth!"

"Yeah right, as if we'd believe some peasant!" a few members of the crowd heckled.

The scale mage raised a brow and advanced. "If what you say is true, then tell me: Where is this Zagred you speak of?"

"My friends and I defeated him last night. If we didn't, everyone in the kingdom would've been dead by now,"

"Is that so? The supposed culprit was defeated without any of our knowledge? How…convenient. Admit it, there never was a Zagred, and if there was, he's the one you employed to do all of this, to enact some twisted form of revenge on those you envied. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're also not an admirer of our current system?"

"...Yeah, I'm not a fan of it at all. You people are arrogant and only care about yourselves, and the way the kingdom works rewards that kind of attitude. That's why I want to change it, but I'm going to do it by becoming the Wizard King, not by plotting revenge!"

Damnatio narrowed his eyes. "A peasant who wants to become the Wizard King? Cute, but it's nothing more than a pipe dream," he scoffed, his gaze finally shifting over to the girl next to him, who in turn met it without fear.

"Now it's your turn, miss," he said, eyeing her with suspicion. "If I may share a moment of honesty with you, I wasn't expecting to see you here, I only had information on Asta's involvement. The mages who work under me took it upon themselves to detain you and bring you here, but I can see why,"

Like many before him, his eyes fell on what resided on the top of her head. "You too appear to be a servant of this devil, and by the presence of those horns, you've dabbled in the taboo of forbidden magic!"

The royals and nobles in the congregation gasped, murmuring amongst themselves at the thought of one delving into such a practice.

"So, she's a demonic practitioner? How despicable," Augustus scoffed.

"Uh yes, very much so," Sekke hesitantly agreed. "What a shame too, she's quite the looker even though she's not that physically endowed. I guess the saying is true, the cutest girls are usually the biggest freaks,"

Damnatio wasn't done with his slander. "Seeing that Asta doesn't have horns like you at the moment, it's proof that you orchestrated this scheme together. You start by using Forbidden Magic to contact Zagred or whatever the devil's called, and then your partner in crime comes in and does his part, getting the devil to enact his plan. Am I in the right field?"

However, unlike the commoner, Secre didn't say a thing, merely staring back at him with a blank expression. "Is your silence an admission of guilt?"

"No, I just choose to not entertain your delusions. What you're saying is nothing but nonsense,"

"You call it nonsense, but what reason does anyone here have to trust your word?" Damnatio retorted, opting to repeat the action where he walked around the platform. "I haven't had the chance to request your citizen records, and I'd rather not wait for them, so I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I'll let you know now that none of it will affect your verdict, so I'm hoping you won't lie to me,"

"Very well," the sealing mage answered without worry.

The royal took note of her unwavering indifference, contrasting the passionate denial of the teen next to her. She was going to be an interesting one. "Okay, I'll start easy. What's your name?"

The girl raised a brow at that, not expecting him to care, but she waved the suspicion away. "My name is Secre Swallowtail,"

For the first time since the trial began, Damnatio's eyes visibly widened in shock at her response, but the dumbfounded look didn't last for long as he suddenly found himself chuckling, that chuckle growing in volume until it became full-blown laughter. The very sight of the royal laughing made everyone feel uneasy, even those on his side couldn't help but feel a chill run up their spines, but thankfully for everyone, it only lasted for about thirteen seconds before he began to compose himself, the action happening rather quickly as his calm demeanor returned in an instant without faltering.

"I apologize for the sudden outburst, I just find it amusing that I ask such a simple question only to be met with such a blatant lie,"

That got through Secre's blank face. "What are you talking about? I didn't lie, that's my name,"

"You can't fool me, miss, I'm a royal, I've done my homework. The Swallowtail House doesn't exist anymore, they haven't existed for 300 years; from what I read, their entire family was destroyed by some catastrophe occurring at the time. Seeing that you at least knew their name, that means you're a noble, as for what family you hail from, that's up to you to tell me,"

"I already did tell you. I am a Swallowtail, as for why I'm here despite what happened to my family…let's just say I have my reasons," she told him adamantly.

But he didn't budge. "I'll tell you what I told your partner, spare me the mystery. If you don't want to tell me, then fine, don't, but your reluctance forces me to speculate that the noble house you're truly from is a very minor one, to the point of obscurity, and if we follow that track of logic, it explains what's your motivation for doing this: inadequacy,"

That word struck a chord with the sealing mage, it summed up exactly how she used to feel about herself…that's right, how she used to feel. Things were different now, so she stood firm against his accusations.

"Coming from a minor noble house, you felt worthless in comparison to those higher than you, even though you were above the common folk, it wasn't enough, you wanted more, but you couldn't get it, after all, one thing that's staggeringly true about our society is that climbing the social ladder takes astounding effort. That was effort you didn't feel like giving, so you took the easy route and made ties with a devil, hoping that the resulting chaos would allow you to swoop in and do whatever you wanted," he said.

But like before, Secre wasn't budging. "You got all of that from a speculation? You sure do know how to inflate details,"

"Then produce your counter," he retorted. "Tell me the real truth and I'll strike that from the record, or else I'll be forced to use that as your reason-,"

"That's enough!" Asta loudly cut him off, now at his wit's end. "I don't even know how long you've been talking for, but I'm sick and tired of hearing you go on and on about our so-called guilt! I'm a Magic Knight, I've put my life on the line time and time again to keep the Clover Kingdom safe! Yes, I disagree with the system and think that the way things are suck, and sometimes I do feel a little jealous towards those who have more than me, but I believe that for a change to mean something, it has to be attained honestly! Aside from that, I would never try to put everyone in danger, I have friends who stand on each level of the social ladder and I care a lot about them! So please, Mister Chairman, I swear on everything I stand for that neither of us had anything to do with this, we're innocent!"

Once the knight finished his passionate statement, the building fell quiet for a few seconds before Damnatio broke the silence. "So, you swear that you're innocent, huh?" he slowly walked to him, getting closer and closer until he invaded Asta's space. From there, he whispered six words into his ear, just six, but it managed to make the swordsman's blood run cold.

.

.

.

"You think I don't know that?"

Asta's eyes widened in shock and horror. "W-What?" he muttered back.

"I knew you didn't do it from the start. The information I got from my sources told me of your transformation during the Royal Knights Entrance Exam. I know you have a devil, but from what they described, you were only given the power to negate magic, nothing more, nothing less,"

"B-But, if you know I'm innocent, why have you done all this?"

"Simple, because it must be done," the royal answered. "Justice is a strict master and demands I serve it well, and to do that, there must always be someone to take the blame, to get punished. If none of that happens, justice simply isn't justice,"

"You can't be serious?"

"I am. If Zagred is no longer alive to be punished, another must take his place, and who better to do that than a peasant with a devil anyway? But if you don't want to, I can round up the possessed people and just execute them instead, alas, the Parliament would rather not have multiple important nobles die,"

"You…you're sick. I'd never be a part of this,"

"Stop being stubborn, you should be honored to be punished in the name of justice…just like my father,"

"Your…father?"

"Yes. Four years ago, some members of House Kira had participated in, let's just say a less-than-ethical deed, and they were apprehended by Magic Knights. My father played a very minuscule role in it, but out of all the members there, he was the lowest on the social ladder. If the others were punished, it would've been chaotic, so they came to me and my father and asked if he'd take the blame and say he was the mastermind that coerced the rest of them. And do you know what he said?"

"What?"

"He said that he'd do it, he knew that someone had to be punished, so he stepped up. We put on a convincing trial and he was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, but we told the masses it was twenty. He selflessly gave up his freedom so that justice could be served, and you should be willing to do the same,"

With that, Damnatio's whispering came to an end as he backed up and stood in the middle of the courtroom. "So, what's it going to be?"

Despite being ultimately disturbed by what he was told, Asta remained steadfast. "You can take that mindset and shove it up your ass, I won't peddle lies!"

The scale mage's eyes narrowed before returning to its default calm. "Very well, just know that you had your chance," he snapped his fingers as the gates opened, revealing two parliament mages who were escorting a detained child.

"Marie?!" the black bull called out to her.

The girl felt somewhat relieved to see a familiar face. "Asta!"

"What are you going to do with that little girl?" Secre demanded.

"She's going to be treated like the criminal she is," the royal replied as she was ushered to a different spot. He now addressed the crowd. "This is Marie Adlai. According to her records, she and her convict brother were disowned and kicked out of their noble house, now she lives in an orphanage. However, last night she could be spotted using her magic to indirectly harm many magic knights, obviously as a form of revenge as the kingdom that did nothing to rectify her plight,"

"That's not true!" Marie cried, but she was quickly silenced by the emotionless stare he sent her way.

"There's no need to lie, little one, I already know you're guilty," the snapping of his fingers was heard yet again as six mages all lined up in front of her, taking aim. "And now you're going to die,"

"What?!" the girl shook her head, tears falling down uncontrollably. "I-I don't w-want to die!"

"Then you should've thought about that before causing trouble," Damnatio answered with indifference. "But if you want some final words of comfort, I'll give you three: This is justice,"

Once he finished speaking, the mages all fired their attacks together. It looked to be over for her, but then…

"NOOO!" Asta jumped on the banister and boosted himself toward the danger, his grimoire opened as he awkwardly pulled out the Destroyer, spinning around as anti-magic coated him, that same energy traveling to Marie and shielding her from the lethal blasts, all before dispersing to reveal the transformed knight.

"You sorry bastards, you call this justice?! Well, it's not! All you do is falsely accuse, look for scapegoats, threaten the innocent!"

Gasps erupted from the crowd at the sight of his demonic appearance, but the royal wasn't bothered. "So, this is what your power looks like up close? Interesting,"

Now that the situation had slightly calmed down, Asta realized what he had done. "Woah, that was the first time I transformed without focusing on my sword. Azaela wasn't kidding when she said more horns make you stronger,"

"Asta, I'm scared," Marie said, terrified.

The swordsman held her closed and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you," he reassured her before he was subjected to another fit of screams.

"What did he do to himself?!"

"He really is working with a devil, just look at him!"

"Now he's done it. Even though it was to protect Marie, transforming was ultimately a bad move," the sealing mage thought.

"So, you wish to not only obstruct our justice, but call it false? All this does is make you appear more guilty," Damnatio scoffed. "Tell me, what's your next move from here? Are you going to flee? You could do that, but you'll become a fugitive and those involved with you will be put under scrutiny. Is that what you want for your loved ones?"

Asta simply grit his teeth, not having an answer. "The Parliament is powerful, you won't get out unscathed, so give up, release the girl, and let yourself be punished. You can't win,"

The demonic swordsman began to think about his options, but none of them were looking particularly good, but he couldn't give in to that bastard's demand, he just couldn't.

.

.

And he wouldn't have to.

BANG!

All eyes quickly shot to the entrance gate as a blast of magic blew it open and a single figure walked into the room, one Asta and Marie called out to.

"Kenos!"

The noble's face was deadly serious, his fist still faintly glowing. "So, this is where you were?"

"Isn't that a Rossiu?" murmurs such as those quickly circulated as they stared down at him.

Damnatio raised a brow. "How'd you get in? There's supposed to be security,"

"Don't worry, there was, they're just taking a short nap," he responded. "As for why I'm here, I read the article. Are you really going to try and pin this on Asta?"

"Of course I am, because he's responsible,"

"No he's not! He's part of the reason we're not all dead right now!" the solar mage then turned to the crowd. "And you all, why are you letting him do this to someone who's innocent?!"

"That dirty peasant isn't innocent, we're the only ones with the right to determine that as we stand at the top!" one of them bravely replied as the others briefly cheered in agreement.

"The right? Is that so? Then let me ask you all a question: Where were you last night when the elves were everywhere?!" Kenos exclaimed, but that was all it took for them to grow quiet.

"C'mon, don't go silent on me now, I bet you were making a lot of noise before I got here!" his voice became condescending. "You just called Asta a dirty peasant and said you're at the top, and why wouldn't you? You're nobles and royals, people with incredible levels of magic. So, tell me what you were doing last night! Surely you were using that power you're so proud of to fight and protect the kingdom and not hiding like a bunch of cowards, praying that someone else would save you?!"

The room was silent once again, none daring to answer. "You say you have the right to pass judgment on someone, but that right isn't given, it's earned by your actions! So I'll ask you one last time: Where were you?!" Kenos then pointed at Asta. "Because I'll tell you where he was, he was out there in the heat of battle, fighting one enemy after another, all so he could keep your ungrateful asses safe!" he then sent his squadmate a nod, who returned it in kind.

The solar mage now turned to the Chairman. "Damnatio Kira! This trial is a sham and you know it, end it now or there will be consequences!"

The scale mage shook his head. "You're wasting your breath, Kenos Rossiu. This is the Magic Parliament, your family's name has no sway here, this is the first time we've spoken to each other, but I never pegged you for an idiot. If you want to get in the way of justice, you will be judged too. You were foolish to come alone,"

But rather than looking worried in the slightest, Kenos gave the man the smuggest grin he had ever given anyone. "And what exactly is so amusing?"

"Damnatio, here I was thinking you were supposed to be the smart one," the solar mage said as he made a brief whistling sound, perspective shifted to the outside where a large fist winded back and punched into the side of the building.

"What the hell's going on?!" multiple people shouted as debris was falling everywhere. Meanwhile, Damnatio's eyes were just on Kenos as the teen pulled out a communication device from his satchel, his grin still present.

"You didn't think I'd actually come alone, did you?"

The chairman now set his eyes on the massive hole that was covered in a thick cloud of dust, and within that cloud, voices spoke up.

"Well, would you look at what they're trying to do to the kid? Not on my watch,"

"You guys made a big mistake going after one of our own,"

"He can't die just yet, fights aren't as fun without him,"

"I won't you let you do anything to my precious friend,"

"He's a guy who can see the worth in everybody, even those who can't fight,"

"And he's so courageous too, just look at how he can show his face to everyone,"

"Heeeee issss a niiiicccceeee booooyyyyy,"

"If he dies, Marie would be sad, so I'll defend him,"

"He's super special, not even fate can hold him back,"

"There's no way I'm letting you elitist bastards kill one of the few good Magic Knights around,"

"Yeah, especially since I was planning to reward him with tons of goodies,"

"He's loud and obnoxious, but as a royal, believe me when I say this kingdom needs him,"

The dust finally settled, revealing all of the Black Bulls, standing together. A confident chuckle escaped Kenos' lips as he leaped into a mid-air frontflip, reconvening with his squad as he landed and stood next to Yami in the center. "Yes, I brought some company with me. So, why don't you do us a favor…,"

"...AND GIVE ASTA BACK!"

"How dare those miscreants come here uninvited?!" the king whined, not noticing Sekke breathe a silent sigh of relief.

Despite the unexpected arrival, Damnatio didn't appear too bothered. "The Black Bulls, I wasn't expecting you all to show up, but that was quite the dramatic entrance," his eyes focused on the solar mage. "I'm guessing you're the one who cooked this up?"

Kenos shrugged. "What can I say? I thought it'd be effective,"

"And did it have to involve destroying property?"

"I said there'd be consequences, did I not?"

Asta couldn't help but give a relieved smile. "You guys came,"

"Gauche!" the girl called out to her brother.

"Marie!" the mirror mage shifted his sister over to him. "What happened?!"

"Some people came to Nean to get me and they brought me here to be executed, but Asta saved me," she explained as the teen used a small light beam to break her chains.

"What?!" he glared at the scale mage. "She's just a kid!"

"She's a criminal. I guess the saying is true, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," he retorted, ignoring his growls.

A happy sigh escaped Secre's lips, but she couldn't waste her chance. "Everyone! Take Asta and get out of here!"

The demonic swordsman eyes went wide. "Just me? You're not coming with us?"

She shook her head. "My mission is complete. All this time I've been alive for, it was all to defeat Zagred, and now that he's gone, I'm at ease. This is where we part ways, I'll leave this place, catch up with Teiko and Azaela, then see where life takes me," she closed her eyes calmly, waiting for them to go.

"You're not serious, are you?"

Her eyes shot open at the sound of Magna's voice. "What?"

"Noelle and Finral told us about you, how you were Nero until recently, and that you've been living with us for months,"

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, we all thought that you were a guy for the longest time, but it'd be nice to have another girl around,"

"That was different, I was only there to watch over Asta's grimoire, no more and no less," she protested, closing her eyes once more.

Yami was about to say something, but before he could, a person walked past him and spoke first, someone he would've never expected in a million years.

"Do you really mean that?"

Secre's eyes opened again as she saw Gordon get closer to her, he kept going until they were just a few feet apart. "I have to be honest, I was pretty surprised when I heard you were a human, but it was a pleasant one," he then reached into his coat and pulled out an object.

The object in question was a doll in the likeness of Nero. "Do you remember how much trouble we went through to make this?"

"I do,"

Gordon smiled as he reminisced. "As do I. We were looking everywhere in the base for that last piece of red cloth, but we couldn't find it until that fiasco with the beasts, and searching for them was a whole thing in itself. I look back fondly on that day, as well as the other times we spent together as friends. Did any of that mean anything to you?"

The sealing mage looked intently at the doll in his hands before looking back at him. "...Of course they did," she answered with a small toothless smile. "It was…nice, getting to really hang out with someone again. I really appreciated it when you went through all of that trouble to make me that plush, it was the first time I considered you a friend,"

"I'm happy to hear that," he got closer to her, putting a hand over her cuffs as a poison enveloped them, corroding it until they fell off. From there, he placed the doll in her hands. "If you're my friend, you're everybody else's too. So then why are you asking us to go on living without you? That's not how we treat our friends,"

Those words made Secre's eyes widen as Yami stepped forward. "Damn, just one day of talking regularly and you're already making heartfelt speeches," he joked, addressing the girl now. "But he's right, you've been with us for a while, so you might as well just stay,"

The captain reached into his satchel, pulling out a folded robe, and placing it over her. "It's alright if you're a weirdo or something, as you know, our squad is full of weirdos, well, except for Kenos,"

Secre now looked at the article of clothing on her before relenting with a chuckle. "Okay then, I'll join you,"

Everyone else expressed joyous looks at her answer, but then Damnatio interrupted them. "This is touching and all, but don't think you can just barge in here and do what you please. You will all be punished," his grimoire came up to him as he drew his tool. "Scale Magic: Scale Regulate!"

In an instant, multiple magic constructs began to shrink in size, garnering surprised looks from the bulls, but Vanessa remained calm as her eyes fell on the tiny cat on her shoulder. "Okay, he didn't get rid of Rouge, we're still safe. Besides, we have someone who can take care of this just fine,"

And that person was already on it. "Oh no you don't! Anti-Magic: Demon Destroyer Sword - Causality Release!" he pointed his blade at them, emitting red and black energy that returned their creations to normal.

"Nice work, kid, leave the rest to me!" Yami drew his katana and blitzed his way toward the royal, the scale mage doing his best to move his body out of the way.

However, before anything could happen, a spiral of two colors entered the building via the recently-made hole and came in between the two, revealing two men who stopped them in the nick of time.

Kenos identified the first man. "Captain Fuegoleon?"

Noelle then identified the second man, albeit more hesitantly. "N-Nozel?"

The mercury mage heard his name, turning to see his sister, sending her a simple nod as a greeting before turning his attention to the dark mage. "And just what do you think you're doing? Are you trying to kill him?"

"Relax, Bradilocks, I was just going to rough him up a little, honest,"

Fuegoleon sighed. "Look, we read the article too, the actions taken against Asta are unforgivable, but you can't just administer your own justice,"

"Speaking of administering justice, what are you two doing here?" Damnatio wanted to know. "Have you also come to get in my way?"

"No, we've come to deliver something," the flame mage replied as he took out a note. "A note from the Wizard King himself!"

That declaration caused another eruption of murmurs among the crowd and even among the bulls. "So now Julius wants to get involved?! Where was he earlier?!" the pathetic light mage had another brief tantrum.

The scale mage's attention was piqued. "What did he say?"

"He's ordered that Asta will not be executed, but instead, he and the Black Bulls will investigate the devils and acquire information on them," Nozel answered this time. "But to make sure he doesn't try to flee, he'll wear this," he produced a bracelet from his pocket, throwing it to the magicless mage. "It'll let him be tracked,"

"I would never run, but if it'll help," he put it on.

"If Julius ordered it, I won't interfere, but I will set my own stipulations as well," Damnatio didn't miss his chance. "You and that girl will be exiled from the Noble and Common Realms, but feel free to traverse the Forsaken Realm as you please. As well as that, if you are to enter the prohibited areas, it must be for the sake of this investigation,"

"Works for me," Asta nodded.

"Then I suppose you're free to go," the chairman made his way to the boy as he detransformed, leaning in as he whispered his parting words. "But let me make this clear, if this investigation of yours doesn't give me a good enough scapegoat to punish, you're going back on the top of the list,"

"Whatever," he spat back as the two parted.

"Sekke, we're leaving," Augustus rose from his throne.

"Right away, your Majesty,"

Not saying a single word, Damnatio merely glared at the Black Bulls as they shared quick words with the other captains before leaving, their base in the distance.

"That went pretty well!" Yami laughed as the Raging Black Bull hurried across a clear terrain on their way back.

The entire squad remained outside, sitting atop the base's shoulders enjoying the view. Asta then came up between Kenos and Noelle, giving them a hug from behind. "I'll say, you guys are the best!"

"H-Hey, watch where you're touching," the royal admonished him in her usual flustered manner.

"Oops, my bad,"

The solar mage couldn't help but giggle internally. "You can't even take a win when it's given to you. I'll never understand that girl," he thought, not having a problem with his friend's gesture. "Don't mention it, we know you'd do the same for us. But something irks me. Captain!"

"What?!"

"When you were talking to Secre, you said everyone was a weirdo but me,"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"That's not true, I'm a total weirdo,"

"Ha! Yeah right!" Luck laughed. "You're like, the only normal person here,"

"Nuh-uh, I'm weird just like the rest of you,"

"Then enlighten us with your peculiar vice," Charmy challenged him.

"Okay. Let's see, I'm…uh…I'm…uh…damn it, I know there's something,"

"You're all wrong, he is a weirdo," Noelle came to his defense.

"Thank you,"

"I mean, have you seen the way he looks at babies?"

"Oh come on! That's not weird at all!"

"Yes it is!" many of them said back.

The solar mage crossed his arms and pouted, mumbling to himself. Meanwhile, on a different level, Secre was lying down, her gaze on the sky as she overheard the conversation from afar, her left hand clutching the doll she was given while her right hand was placed over her squad's insignia. A genuine smile then tugged at her lips.

"I guess this won't be so bad after all,"