The Branch of Thorns

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of The Fallen! Sorry if it took a minute, still working out a good schedule. And for those who don't know, I try to keep a consistent update schedule on my Pat treon! So if you want to know what's happenin' during the week or want to catch a scene sample or two, that's the place to go! And I think that's about all the info I have for this particular AN, so with no guest review questions this week, let's see what Asta's up too!

Hage Village: The Church

Asta was nervous. It was to be expected when one knew they were in trouble and standing before the ones who'd administer their punishment. In this instance, it was the acting father of the church/orphanage, Orsi Orfai, and Sister Lily Aquaria who were to be his judge, jury, and executioners, in a manner of speaking. "Asta," father Orfai began with a sigh, "we've told you time and time again not to go wandering so deep into the forest, alone, haven't we?"

Physically speaking he wasn't an intimidating man by any stretch of the imagination even if he was slightly tall. Like most priests he was adorned in the traditional black robes with a white mantle around his shoulders and a small golden cross hanging from his neck. He was older with short grey hair and a goatee, giving him a very grandfatherly air about himself. But right now, he may as well have been ten feet tall.

"You have," Asta nodded, unable to meet their gazes.

"And the amount of time you were gone," Sister Lily continued for Orsi, "you had us all worried. Poor Yuno was frantic when he couldn't find you." Unlike the priest, Aquaria was a much younger woman wearing a traditional nun's garb which hid her long, dark blue hair. Ordinarily her teal eyes were filled with nothing but kindness. Today, however, they were marked with concern, something Asta disliked being the cause for.

"I didn't mean to be gone so long," Asta rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't think I could get lost back there."

"It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't try to cover up your mistake by lying," the priest shook his head.

"But I promise I'm no-," the ashen-haired boy tried to protest before being cut off by Orsi raising his hand.

"What's done is done, Asta," he declared, "and while we are all happy to have you back I can't simply let you go like nothing happened. It'll set a bad example for the others."

"What are you going to do," Asta asked nervously.

"Recently you've fallen behind on your reading and writing," Sister Lily pointed out, "for the next week you'll be staying behind and writing out your sentences whenever the others go out to play."

"A week," the boy groaned, "but that's so long. I only got lost for-."

"You got lost because you didn't listen to what we told you to do," father Orsi cut him off, "we'd punish any of the other children the same for not listening and causing this amount of trouble." Asta bowed his head with a slight sniff, trying to hold back his tears. For a hyperactive child like him, being forced to stay inside was a heavy sentence. But Lily, ever the merciful sister, bent down to tell him one extra condition.

"It'll be over before you know it," she assured with a hand on his shoulder, "and if you're really good and get your work done early, we might be persuaded to let you out for a bit."

"You mean it," Asta's eyes lit up at the prospect that things wouldn't be so bad.

"You'll have to be very good," Sister Lily reminded, "but yes, we mean it." She shot a look at father Orsi who relented and gave a nod of approval. The gesture brought a smile to the boy's face upon hearing this. "Now then, it's time for bed, so go get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep."

"I will, thank you both," he bowed before running off. As soon as he was out of earshot, Sister Lily sighed as she stood up with a look of concern on her face.

"You noticed it too," the priest observed.

"He seems troubled by something," she put a hand to her cheek in thought, "usually he's so much louder and more unruly. Ordinarily I'd have to punch him with a water fist to curb his excitement before bed but now he seems, distracted. I don't know what's bothering him, but it definitely happened while he was in the forest."

"We might have to check it out for ourselves," father Orsi mused. Indeed, their concern was warranted. Being a hyperactive child, Asta had always had a hard time going to sleep when everyone else did. But tonight, he was calm, or perhaps scared was a better way to describe it.

He was certainly tired from his ordeal, his young mind still unable to fully process what he'd seen in the home of Megicula. But it was also this that kept him awake. The boy feared that when he closed his eyes, he'd wake up lost in the forest again. When sleep finally did come for him, it was a restless sleep.

Demon Prison

The demoness herself, Megicula, did not sleep that night. This, however, was not unusual. In the prison she'd been locked in, certain things did not exist. Sleep was one of them.

It was not a complete exaggeration to say that she hadn't slept in centuries as there was no need for sleep in this particular prison. Of course, it was only thanks to her few connections to the outside world that she had even a vague idea about how much time had passed. One of the other little things that didn't exist in the prison was time. There was no day or night, no seasons, no aging, and no dying.

The designers of this horrid place intended it to be an eternal prison for its inhabitants and thus, the inmates could not be allowed to die. They would, however, suffer periodically. No one ever knew when or where in the prison it would happen, but everyone knew when their suffering was about to begin. For Megicula, it started off simply enough.

As she was working on the connection she'd made with the boy, Asta, a ticking sound reached her ears. The demoness's eyes widened as she recognized the insectile, repetitive noise that seemed to be coming from all around her. Instantly she covered her ears, doing her best to muffle the sound as it continued with no sign of stopping. Megicula was rewarded with minor success as the sound stayed muffled for a short time.

But it was relentless, ticking on and on, an existence that would not be denied. That's when it got louder, or to be more precise, when the ticking invaded her mind. She could hear it clear as day now and no matter how hard she held her ears its volume wouldn't diminish. After all, it's much harder to muffle the sounds being made in one's mind.

Megicula grit her teeth against the noise, demanding it, willing it, begging it to stop. And after a long time, it finally did. Slowly, cautiously, the horned woman removed her hands from her ears. That's when another noise greeted her, the sound of footsteps.

'Another demon,' she more hoped than thought, 'could it be brother?' Turning towards the sound, Megicula saw a figure approaching, one that did not belong to a demon, one whose appearance sent shivers down her spine. Its form was like a shadow, shifting between humanoid and beast-like with every few steps. This being's appearance could only mean one thing: her torment was not yet done.

The figure spoke then, its voice irregular as it shifted from that of an adult man's, to a woman's, a child's, sometimes even many voices at once. But whatever voice the apparition used it was the words it said that caused her pain and fright. 'Failure, useless fool, ignorant bitch, helpless sow, pointless struggler,' none of these words or phrases alone would get to her but hearing them all at once, over, and over again as it prodded at her weaknesses and insecurities. Some days she could bear it, some days her defiance was strong enough to push her through the torment.

But today was not one of those days. While she had success implanting herself into the boy, Asta, there was no guarantee he would work out better than any of the others. As it was now, she only had two reliable connections in the human world and if they both failed. The thought of continuing to endure this torment finally broke her and she let out a scream in an attempt to drown out the words belittling her efforts before breaking into a run.

But the words followed after her as the figure appeared again and again, no matter where she ran or how far. After what she assumed was a few minutes the figure approached once more, seizing her by the throat and holding her up, its grip so tight she could barely breathe. Adding to her terror, the figure's appearance had changed again, now resembling an amalgamation of nightmares that would've made even the most fearless of individuals drop dead from fright. And topping it all off, the dreaded creature held up its other horribly crafted hand, revealing a key.

Yet another insult, another mocking gesture, presenting her with something just out of her reach. Megicula knew the key wouldn't work even if she got it, knew it was just the prison playing on her fears and doubts while mocking any and all hope she had. Still, it reminded her of the countless attempts she'd made to escape, the numerous times she'd suffered failure and disappointment when they didn't work, the anguish of watching her brethren suffer as she suffered. All these memories finally broke her down as tears poured from her eyes.

"Please," Megicula begged, "please stop, just, just let me go. Isn't this enough for now?" The figure didn't appear to hear her and yet a moment later it released her. Megicula hit the ground, gasping for breath with her hand on her throat. Her old injury throbbed but then she felt her other hand brush against something on the ground: a sharp stone.

The demoness's eyes glanced towards it, noting the jagged edge at the end of it. She turned her eyes back to the figure before her, a determined look crossing her features. Knowing it was all just mental torture, this was the only way to get anything close to a reprieve. So, taking the stone in hand, Megicula stabbed herself in the side of the neck.

There was no use in trying to harm the phantom, but she could harm herself easily enough. The problem was, Megicula had worked extensively after her near beheading to ensure she had a toughened neck and even though she had a sharpened stone, it wasn't long enough to pierce her heart. Thus, the winged woman was forced to stab herself in the neck again, and again, and again, over and over. Pain erupted from her wound and black blood gushed profusely, rolling down her body and onto the ground.

Instead of trying to stop her or even acting concerned, the figure before her began to laugh. The closer Megicula got to ending her life the louder it laughed. Thanks to the phantom's shifting voice it sounded like multiple people were cackling perversely, enjoying the torment she was willingly inflicting on herself. Then, at long last, the strength left Megicula's limbs as she collapsed to the ground, dropping the stone as her body now lay in a pool of her own black blood.

The phantom grinned wickedly but finally, finally faded away. It had done its job as a function of the prison. As Megicula lay motionless, staring up at the dome-like sky, her body began to repair itself. This highly potent regenerative ability was a characteristic of her kind that had developed back in the early days of the world.

Back then, being hard to kill was a blessing to the demons, allowing them to fight on for seemingly ever under the right conditions. Now, however, it had been taken advantage of to ensure their torment lasted for eternity. Thanks to another function of the prison, even injuries which would prove fatal were healed. As Megicula's wound closed and her blood was replaced, she was again reminded that she had no right to anything in this place. Even the right to die had been taken away from her.

Two Weeks Later: Hage Village

"Alright everyone, it's time to begin the lesson," Sister Lily announced before beginning to write several things down on the blackboard they'd brought outside. Today's lesson was one better performed outdoors for a number of reasons, chief among them being limiting damage to the church. Naturally Asta stood with the others, bouncing excitedly on his feet. While Yuno would deny it, he was excited too.

After all, today was the day they and the other children officially started learning how to utilize magic. That's not to say the others had never cast any magic before, but its use had been restricted to ensure they didn't cause an accident. "Now I know you're all eager to start casting magic, but first, a quick review. Now, who can tell me what magic is?"

Several of the orphans raised their hands and Lily called on one of the boys. "Magic is what happens when a mage manipulates mana to create an effect in the world," he answered.

"Very good," Aquaria nodded with a smile, "now, who can tell me what mana is?" The orphans again raised their hands with Sister Lily calling on one of the girls this time.

"Mana is naturally existing energy that flows in the environment and in everyone," she answered.

"Correct," Lily again nodded before pointing to the next line on the board, "now everyone in the world possesses mana to one degree or another and thus are capable of performing magic to one degree or another. Typically, a mage is only able to cast spells with the magic they are born with, what do we call this?" The students once again raised their hands, with Lily this time calling on Asta.

"Magic attitude!" He declared loudly before looking perplexed at everyone giggling.

"Close, Asta," Sister Lily informed with an amused look, "magic attribute. This is often influenced by heredity, meaning what your parents had often determines what you'll have. Now, can someone tell me the difference between magic tools and people possessing magic?" When everyone raised their hands, she picked Yuno.

"A magic tool has had magic infused into it," he answered, "but people naturally produce mana because they possess magic cores."

"That's right," She pointed to the next spot on the board, "everyone has a magical core that is the source of mana in their body. Energy is naturally generated here and runs through a mana pathway system in your body the same as blood running through your veins. Thankfully since it's usually naturally occurring energy, you won't start bleeding out your magical attribute if you get a cut or scrape. But it's important to remember that if you exhaust your mana, you'll also exhaust yourself, which is why I'll again remind you to use self-control today and every time you use your magic."

"So does that mean we'll get to do magic now?!" Asta asked excitedly while practically bouncing on his spot.

"Yes, I think we've reviewed long enough," the nun acknowledged, "everyone, get up and stand in a row. Be sure you're pointed away from the church." The children did as requested and before long, they were standing in a line facing the empty clearing in front of them. "The first step is summoning your attribute. Concentrate and pull from the energy inside of you, visualizing a small ball of energy in your hands."

The children all held their hands up, doing as instructed to one degree or another. Some grunted and groaned while others remained silent, a few even closed their eyes. Before long, an orb not much bigger than a pea appeared in everyone's hands. Naturally, each one was colored differently with a couple being orange for fire, a rock for earth, and for Yuno a light green color.

He could swear there was another color discreetly mixed in but dismissed it as part of the shifting nature of his wind magic. And even if he had wondered, there was something else happening to distract him. "WOW!" Asta cheered while raising his cupped hands in the air, "I did it! I made an orb too!"

"What are you talking about," the orphan next to him asked, "there's nothing in your hands."

"You're just not looking closely enough," Asta shoved his hands practically in the boy's face, "look! It's black and red! What kind of magic attribute even is that?!"

"Asta," Sister Lily approached to take a look at it, "you, uh, don't have to pretend. This is just the first lesson, not everyone gets it."

"What, not you too," the ashen-haired boy groaned before holding his hands up, "I'm doing it right now!" Unfortunately, what was clearly visible to him was not visible to everyone else. After all, how can one sense or view magic where there is none?

"I'm sure you are," Aquaria reached out her hands to hold Asta's and reassure him before suddenly drawing back as if she'd touched something hot. 'What was that, my mana felt strange for a moment,' the nun thought while looking at her hands.

"Ah man, now it's gone," Asta waved his hands, trying to summon the tiny orb again. He succeeded one more time that day, brushing off everyone else's lack of belief as them just trying to trick him. He knew he'd succeeded at creating something and he was going to keep working with it until it got as strong as it could.

One Week Later

It started simply enough. Asta had had less appetite than usual at breakfast that morning. Admittedly this could be brushed off as the food simply being its usual bland self. Then came the muscle pain while he was walking around town and the sunlight hurt terribly for some reason.

Again, Asta dismissed these symptoms and downplayed their severity to the other orphans as indigestion from something he ate yesterday along with playing too hard outside. It was in the afternoon that Yuno noticed something was definitely wrong when his usually loud friend seemed extremely out of it. The dark-haired boy promptly drug him to Sister Lily who examined Asta's condition and deduced that his symptoms were that of a typical fever. Naturally Asta was stubborn about it, but in the end, he couldn't say no to the nun and went to lay down in the room they used when one of the children got sick.

Nothing happened for a little while after that. Asta was bored but thankfully the other children came by to say hi from time to time and Sister Lily diligently appeared when it was time to give him some more herbs for his fever. Yet despite her best efforts, the fever continued to rise. It would be late evening when the screaming began, coinciding with the arrival of a stranger.

'So that's the skull of the demon defeated by the first wizard king,' thought a man with tanned skin and black hair that he'd tied into a ponytail. He would seem unremarkable to most, save for the black shoulder cape and wide-brimmed hat he wore. Of course, with Hage village being a smaller community it was obvious he was an outsider. But what many might not have known was how else that label applied.

'Interesting that such a beast would manifest all the way out here,' the stranger continued to muse while walking along. He had an express purpose for being here, one that shouldn't take too long, so he was in no hurry. Unfortunately, life had a way of derailing even the simplest of plans. In this case, it happened as the man was walking by the village church, where he heard the screaming of a child.

"What in the world," he stopped, his curiosity getting the better of him. Naturally most people would've simply gone on their way, but he was not most people. In the next moment, a dark-haired boy burst out of the front doors, running as fast as possible. In his haste, he didn't realize he was about to barrel into someone until it was too late.

The boy attempted to veer to his right when he realized what was about to happen but tripped over his feet in the process. As he was about to hit the ground his fall was stopped by the stranger gripping his arm and pulling him back up. "What's going on in there," the unfamiliar man questioned, "it sounds serious."

"Asta's sick!" The boy practically yelled, "now let me go! I need to go get more herbs!"

"That might not be necessary," the man corrected, "you're in luck, I happen to be a doctor."

"You're a…...doctor," the boy stopped struggling, "do you think…...you could help my friend?"

"Let's take a look at him and find out," the doctor offered before following the youth back into the church. Inside he found the other orphans gathered near the door of one of the far rooms, though they weren't allowed in. It was here he saw the source of the screaming.

"Sister Lily!" The boy called to a nun who was currently placing a damp cloth on the head of the one called Asta. She was standing next to an older man in a priest's uniform. "I found a doctor!"

"A doctor," the nun looked up at him, "are you from one of the upper realms?"

"I am not," the man revealed before taking his hat off to do a slight bow, "my name is Dr. Pyrite. I come from outside of the Clover Kingdom. But we can discuss our personal histories later. For now, what can you tell me about the boy's symptoms?"

"He had a fever this morning that's only gotten worse," Sister Lily explained, "and he started experiencing intense pain not long ago. I don't know anything other than that."

"May I take a look at him," Dr. Pyrite requested.

"Please," she asked with a helpless look in her eyes. The stranger moved to get a better look at Asta before opening up his grimoire.

"Ash Magic: Calming Incense," Dr. Pyrite announced as a layer of grey ash was summoned and settled on parts of the boy's body. Almost at once he calmed down, though he was obviously still in pain. The doctor then began examining Asta, checking for anything unusual like puncture marks, swelling, bruising, etc. It didn't take long for him to find the likely source of the boy's pain: his left arm was turning grey.

"What is that?" Father Orsi asked, sweating a bit at the sight of such a color on a human body.

"Not the kind of ailment one can treat with normal healing magic," Dr. Pyrite observed, "I take it you've been trying that this whole time?"

"I'm not an expert but I do have healing magic," Sister Lily confirmed, "but whatever he has, I can't seem to cure it."

"It's possibly a curse," the doctor announced as he encircled the arm with ash in an attempt to better detect what might be wrong with his now patient, "tell me, does this boy have no mana?"

"No, he doesn't," Father Orsi informed, "he hasn't had any perceivable mana since the day we took him in."

"Interesting, I've only ever heard rumors of such a thing," the doctor mused, "tell me, has there been anything strange happening around that demon skull lately?"

"Asta mentioned something about-AAAAAAAARGH!" Sister Lily stopped as the boy began screaming again. The cause became evident when they looked down to see that the skin on his arm was now falling off, revealing the muscle underneath.

"Sister, use healing magic on his arm," Dr. Pyrite ordered, "focus only on healing, I'll worry about numbing the pain and finding the source." The nun nodded and held her hands out, a bluish green light emanating from them. By this point, the bedding around Asta's left arm was stained with blood, but the skin was starting to come back now. While this happened, the doctor increased the numbing effect of his magic while also ensuring everything in his arm kept functioning by holding it together with his ash magic.

As this was happening, he continued to search and search for the source of the ailment. He was surprised to find that his magic faded whenever he reached what would ordinarily be the magic core of the boy's body. This would continue for some time until finally all the skin on Asta's arm returned and the pain receded. But there had been some changes during this time.

Asta's arm was now an even darker grey. Then, a strange tattoo began forming along his entire arm and on the palm of his hand, glowing red hot. The boy grit his teeth against the pain until it subsided. It was but a temporary reprieve, unfortunately, as the mark heated once again, this time to white hot.

Another few minutes passed as both the doctor and Sister Lily continued to apply their magic to try and stave off the pain. Amazingly, during all this time the boy managed not to lose consciousness. When the pain finally quieted, what was left was a tattoo of black thorns that, If one looked closely enough, possessed buds of flowers along the length of the thorns. Dr. Pyrite carefully removed his ash magic from the boy as he sat up. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"My head still hurts a little," Asta responded while rubbing the side of his head, "and my left arm still feels kinda funny. But I can move it, no problem." He demonstrated by bending and flexing the limb, putting it through its full range of motion. "By the way, who are you?"

"My name is Dr. Pyrite," he introduced with a short bow, "I just happened to be walking by when I heard you in distress. Your friend here nearly ran me over."

"Not like I knew you were out there," Yuno scoffed while crossing his arms.

"Still, it's fortunate you were here," Father Orsi sighed, "the only doctor close to here is a day's walk and he only comes around a couple times a month. Even by broomstick it would've taken hours to fetch him and even then, we don't hardly have the money to pay…him." The priest trailed off as he realized he may have just reminded the man of something he shouldn't have.

"Fret not," Dr. Pyrite assured with a laugh, "I had actually come here to do some research on that large demon skull of yours. I won't force someone to pay for a simple examination, just tell me everything you know about the skull, and we'll call it even."

"That's more than fair," Sister Lily smiled, trying not to betray the large amount of relief she felt, "We'll take you to the grimoire tower. The mage who cares for it should be able to tell you plenty." A few more pleasantries were exchanged after that. Dr. Pyrite gave his best diagnosis of Asta's condition, theorizing that some residual magic from the demon skull affected Asta when he was in the woods that someone with mana would've normally been able to stave off.

Everyone accepted this explanation, even guessing it might've also had something to do with Asta's wild story. Alas, they'd come to regret dismissing it all so easily.

One Year Later: Demon Prison

'Such a child,' Megicula thought while rubbing her temples. She had recently finished a communication with her potential host, Vanica Zogratis. It seemed even a year later she was as immature and annoying as ever. Thanks to her playing around it was likely the opening of the gate would take some time yet.

'Even if only a year's passed, I was under the impression most humans matured as they got older,' she sighed before standing up and walking to a more secluded area. Once she arrived the demoness sat down in a meditative pose, the lotus position. 'It's fortunate I've developed endless patience during my time here or I would've killed that girl already.' And speaking of one year, it had also been one year since she'd implanted a part of her being into the boy.

'What was his name again, Asta,' Megicula mused, 'not that it matters. All humans are either trash or traitors as far as I'm concerned.' Fortunately, this particular piece of gray-haired trash had a use, one she would now put to the test. The demoness began by reaching out with her senses, calling out to the piece of her existence that lied beyond her prison.

She concentrated first on finding it, making sure the connection would be gentle once it was established, otherwise she might cause an overreaction that would kill the host. Naturally Megicula cared nothing for the boy called Asta, but it would be a waste to kill him so soon. That's why, after searching for a little while and locating the piece of her existence, she merely confirmed that it had successfully integrated with him and that a connection between the two of them had been formed. 'Good,' she smiled to herself, 'in time the connection will become stronger and stronger until eventually I can use it as a potential path to freedom.'

Naturally there were still some possible issues she could run into but for the time being it seemed everything was proceeding well. She took a deep breath then before letting it out shortly after, watching as the view of her surroundings slowly changed. Before long, Megicula was seeing things through Asta's eyes. 'Hmm, good,' the demoness mused, 'but let's see what other views are available.'

With a bit of focus, her perspective changed to being a short distance outside of Asta's body, as if she were a spirit lingering by his side. No one could see or hear her, even the boy who possessed a piece of her being. Not that he'd be able to pay attention to her right now anyway considering he was busy getting knocked down by a drunken man. Megicula raised her eyebrow a bit when the boy leapt back up and tried attacking the drunk again, only to be met with the same result.

'What in the world is he after,' the demoness mused before noticing Asta was grabbing for a pendant with a gold chain and a blue stone. Upon closer inspection, she realized the stone also possessed a gold cross and four-pointed star in each corner. 'Could it be,' she thought in amusement, 'it is, one of the magical seraphic stones.' Megicula had seen such a stone some time ago and knew of its value.

For the moment it was completely worthless as far as her plans went but it would certainly be suitable for another minor scheme or two in the future. Of course, Asta had to get it back first and currently the only thing he was succeeding in was getting more and more cuts and bruises. But he was a determined little brat, getting up and attacking again and again despite the obvious pain being inflicted on him. The imprisoned demon eventually saw why when she spied the one known as Yuno a short distance away.

'How sweet,' she smiled mockingly, 'he cares for his little friend.' And it appeared to be a great deal as Asta finally managed to knock the pendant out of the man's hand and onto the ground before jumping on it and covering it with his body. The drunkard snarled in rage, bringing his foot down on him again and again, stamping and kicking his body viciously. Even without her connection to the boy Megicula knew bones were breaking.

Finally, the man tried reaching down to take the pendant again, only to recoil in pain as the practically immobile child bit down on his hand so hard it drew blood. The drunkard stumbled back at long last deciding it wasn't worth it and moved on. Megicula gave a toothy smile at the damage that had been done. The boy had multiple broken bones, including a few open fractures, and much of his body was now covered in blood. Adding to her glee was the sight of the boy, Yuno, crying over his friend's broken form.

Now one might wonder why she'd derive so much glee from watching her test subject and potential way back into the world suffer. The answer was simple: her opinion about Asta was currently the same as her opinion about all humans. For the demoness, humans were nothing more than bugs. If they couldn't be used as tools, then their only purpose was to be crushed under the feet of her and her kind.

In fact, she wished the drunkard had gone a bit further in his violence. But this would have to suffice as the connection was growing too weak for her to maintain. Despite this, Megicula still smiled wickedly, knowing that she could come back later to investigate the nature of the boy's magic and keep an eye on her enemies in order to plan her next move. After all, she wouldn't have to wait long.

Thanks to a passing villager who heard Yuno's cries, they were able to get Asta to Sister Lily in time to heal his injuries. Between her healing magic and the boy's now even more abnormal body, it only took two days for him to heal, as opposed to potential months. Megicula would continue to check in on the boy periodically after that, her excitement growing at what he would be able to achieve in the future.

And so the seed continues to grow along with a few other unexpected developments. For those wondering, Dr. Pyrite is an OC of mine, the father of another OC, Dune Pyrite. Not much else to say about that so 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, check out my Pat reon and see about becoming a patron! Last thing, stop in next time as Asta further develops his own skills and abilities! 'Til then.