Akame ga Clover

by stringdog

Death is the end…or is it? Reborn in a new world where magic is everything by Fate itself to counter a threat that violated the laws of nature Akame and Tatsumi must first regain their memories of their past live and then fight to protect the Clover Kingdom from the threats that it will face but who will accept people like them? The Black Bulls of course.

49. Chapter 49: Trust

Here is the fortieth-ninth chapter in this story released in accordance with the release schedule. It's the final push, it has to be. Vanessa and Finral have joined the battle and are now backing up Asta and an armored Akame as they once more engage Vetto but will this be enough? Will the Black Bulls finally triumph or will they be plunged into the pits of despair? Well time to find all of that out as that I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response, though I thank you for your support of my work, or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the forty-ninth chapter in Akame ga Clover.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 49: Trust

Akame rushed at Vetto. It was a feeling that she couldn't describe, she should be heavier and slower in the armor that Tatsumi had created on her but she felt lighter and her speed was faster than without it. It was as if it was natural for her, the armor was simply part of her body listening to her and working as one to enhance and increase her abilities and durability. Akame was all but certain that this had to be what Tatsumi got in Incursio and she was going to use it to its fullest as she closed on Vetto.

The Beast Mage didn't have time to get off a spell, Akame was that fast in her armor, so he just formed a claw over his right forearm with his raw magic and slashed it down but Akame sensed it and leapt up and over it with enough force to crater the ground. She didn't flip though, rather she kicked off the air with Mana Zone as soon as she was above the claw and shot behind Vetto, twisting, and slashing down with both swords as she got behind him.

Akame was still getting used to the enhanced strength and speed that the armor gave her so she overshot her mark a bit, that and Vetto was fast enough to step forward the moment she kicked off the air, but she was still in range and managed to slash both blades across his back in diagonal slashes. The cuts weren't deep but they hit drawing blood and the lower one wouldn't clot so that would have a long term effect on Vetto, providing they could turn this into a prolonged duel that is.

However, Akame didn't see even see the blood start to well up from the wounds she'd inflicted on Vetto because as a portal opened up at her feet before she hit ground and she fell through it. She'd not stated it directly, but she'd implied it when she said that she trusted all the Black Bulls, and that included fully trusting Finral to use his portals in the best way possible to aid her and Asta in this duel and he did so now allowing her to vanish before Vetto could turn to swipe at her.

At the same time, and thus preventing Vetto's swipe even as he was about to move and try to get to Akame despite the portal taking her away, Asta rushed him using Akame's charge as cover to get in close and hit Vetto with his normal Anti-Magic sword as that was the one that he was carrying. Vetto realized this and rather than turn to Akame, he kept his senses alert for her as blood trickled down his back and instead focused on dodging Asta's attack as the magic circles appeared behind him.

"Mythical Beast Magic: Epohlla Puevig!" Vetto roared sending the spell he'd wanted to cast at Akame when she charged at Asta now that he had the time to cast it.

However, before it could reach Asta, he was suddenly yanked into the air by Vanessa's threads and out of the path of the spell. Said spell then hit another portal that Finral had created and was redirected to Vetto's left side as Akame, who'd materialized out of a portal near the ceiling and to Vetto's right along the wall, pushed off the wall she'd been falling down parallel to and shot at Vetto.

This was all calculated as Akame knew that Vetto would just deflect his own spell with his left arm, which he did, and that would thus distract him from her second charge. At least that was the plan but Vetto showed his speed and heightened senses by leaping backwards and out of her way as she flew only seconds before she would have bisected him with Tatsumi's sword. It was still not far enough as she slashed the sword and the razor sharp tip of Tatsumi's blade cut a clean, shallow, line across Vetto's abs but he ignored it as it was nothing but a scratch to him.

Akame wasn't done though as she twisted in the air in a corkscrew and brought her katana around and up as she passed trying to sever Vetto's left arm mid forearm. He realized this and lifted his arm out of the way but the tip of Kiriichimonji sliced a small line in his left side as Akame passed.

Again it wasn't deep enough to be an issue on its own but the wound would keep bleeding which in a prolonged battle would advantage them. A prolonged battle this might be as Akame hit the ground on her feet and slid over it and backwards through one of Finral's portals to appear near where Asta had landed thanks to Vanessa's threads as her slide ended next to him.

Vetto had to admit, he was impressed. He'd expected Kurome's sister to land behind him and go for a double stab to his back while the Anti-Magic brat attacked and nullified his spell with his sword. Naturally Vetto had a complete plan for that scenario that would have resulted in both of them being killed. However, he hadn't expected that the Spatial Mage would redirect both Akame and his spell at almost the same time with the former being moved to a position for a second charge and the latter back at him that would also cover the former's second charge.

To pull it off it had taken quick reflexes and high accuracy which were impressive for mere humans. Still, it wasn't enough to stop him and Vetto just changed his tactics and took the fight to them to make it a close combat brawl, laughing the entire time.

Asta didn't back down from this though and roared as he rushed forward but Akame held back for a moment and then rushed to match him a stride or two behind and to the side of Asta. As she did Vetto leapt to punch Asta but he was about to Asta vanished through a portal erected between them while Akame just leapt high into the air so that Vetto punched the ground.

"Nice try brat but…" Vetto began as he sensed the flare of magic behind and to his right and twisted, sliding away from it as Asta appeared in the air flying towards him. "The Spatial Magic and your aura give…"

Before Vetto could finish Asta was suddenly yanked away by the witch's strings shifting his trajectory on a dime and causing Vetto to roar as he punched the ground again, this time hard enough to crater it. This was interesting but still not enough as Vetto tracked Asta and leapt up after him just as Akame kicked off the air as she reached the apex of her earlier leap and shot at the ceiling, trusting Finral to know what to do.

"The useless scurrying of insects won't…" Vetto began but a portal appeared before him as he closed in on Asta and Akame shot out of it swords flashing as Finral redirected her armor and Mana Zone assisted leap at the ceiling at Vetto.

Vetto roared as he coated himself in Mythical Beast Magic and twisted in the air while Asta flew around the cavern on Vanessa's strings and Akame spun becoming a vortex of red, black, and gray. The two combatants clashed as they passed each other, sparks flying as the steel in Akame's hands struck the reddish brown protection of Vetto's Mythical Beast Magic before they were past and each other with Vetto landed on the ground in a crouch his magic having protected him somewhat but a few cuts leaked blood from his arms while Akame plunged into another portal to get clear of a retaliatory spell.

The enraged man didn't have time to process that as another portal opened to his side and he roared turning to it, raw magic coating his right fist and punched there only to realize that it wasn't one of the attackers but rather a large rock that Finral had sent to him. Only then did Vetto realize his mistake as Asta shot out of a second portal that appeared directly below him and too close to dodge having been pulled into one by Vanessa and roaring at the Beast Mage as he did.

"This is my weapon!" Asta roared as he slashed his sword across his body and at Vetto. "Watch as I defeat you with it!"

Vetto only had a moment to react and he wasn't fast enough to fully evade Asta's strike so he took the blow to his right cheek, his head snapping to the side and a layer of skin being shaved off. As he staggered, Asta flew past and was yanked back to Finral and Vanessa but the latter's threads just as Akame, who'd returned to ground level after passing Vetto thanks to the portal she'd plunged into rushed out of a different portal that appeared right next to Vetto on his left hand side her swords flashing.

All Vetto could do was roll with the blow and form enough Mythical Beast Magic over his left arm and swipe it at the katana with enough strength to deflect it away as he twisted and pushed off the ground to get some distance. He managed to get the annoying katana away without taking another cut from it but as Akame passed she twisted her body and thrust Tatsumi's sword into Vetto's gut so that the triangular tip and the first inch of the main blade fully went in before he was able to get away, blood flying from his wounds as Akame ran through another portal and returned to the others as they all faced off against Vetto.

"That was close." Finral said a slight pant in his voice. "You were a second away from being ripped into pieces. Without Akame as a distraction I'm not sure if I could have managed that."

"Doesn't matter." Vanessa said a grim smile on her face. "This is how we do it. Keep it up you two."

"I don't know what you're taking about, it's all you guys." Asta said looking at them his eyes wide. "It was all you guys."

"Asta's right." Akame said. "We couldn't have done it without you two. You're showing the power of Support Magic. All magic has a place on the battlefield if used properly and that's what you guys are proving."

"Amazing." Noelle whispered from where she was by the others. "Who knew that Finral and Vanesa were that skilled. The precision, concentration, and control, it's as good as I've ever seen."

"Yeah I've not seen that before." Tatsumi said with a cough that spewed blood. "Akame is one thing but those two really stepped up when we needed it the most. Akame and Asta are right, this is all them, we wouldn't be in this without their magic."

Before anyone could add anything a pair of magic circles appeared above Vetto's head as he rose to his full height. Blood was running down his face and from wounds on his back, side, and arms. He was trying to heal his wounds and while the wounds inflicted with the non-magical sword quickly healed, the ones inflicted by Akame's katana and the brat's Anti-Magic sword weren't healing.

The katana was one thing, Vetto felt that if he really focused he could overcome the curse that seemed to emanate from the edge of that blade and heal the wounds that it had inflicted but the Demon-Dweller sword was another matter. That sword seemed to have cut off the very flow of Vetto's self-healing magic so the Demon-Slayer Sword, and if he didn't get the time to focus on the wounds the katana as well, were the only weapons present that could defeat him.

Alone that wasn't a problem, the Anti-Magic brat didn't have the strength and energy left to defeat him and Vetto knew it. However, with the Spatial and Thread Mages backing him up the brat had considerably more mobility which could be a problem.

The male was a nuisance as he could relocate the brat to any other location within the cavern and create multiple portals at once so Vetto wouldn't know which ones were connected but that was manageable. No, the real pain was the female's Thread Magic. There were threads all over the cavern, too weak to bind or contain him but too fine to see or sense so their true threat was that they could come into play at any second and redirect the brat anywhere in the cavern making his moves unpredictable and unnatural. Add in the portals and the options for directionality were near endless.

Then, on top of all of this, there was the additional factor Kurome's sister harassing him at the same time, herself boosted by the Armor Mage's magic. That girl knew how to use Mana Zone and in a mana rich environment like the Strong Magic Region that the Underwater Temple was in she could maximize the ability, one that she clearly honed out of necessity and was skilled enough in it to harass someone as fast and skilled as Licht.

So that, coupled with the boosts that the armor that she now wore gave her and her sword skills made her moves almost as unpredictable as the brat's and that was only factoring in the portals that might appear as the witch could also use her threads on Kurome's sister. Her mere presence only benefited the brat but even with all of this Vetto knew that he wouldn't be defeated.

"How fascinating you pathetic insects are." Vetto said as he began to cackle as he looked out at the quartet before him. "Individually humans are nothing more than garbage with a few small tricks but with four of you working together and covering more than just raw offensive power you can actually put up a fight against me."

"We've been showing you that all along." Akame pointed out. "You're just too arrogant to realize that when killing a monster you sometimes need numbers, teamwork, trust, and coordination."

"I'm not arrogant, it's just a fact that I'm better than you puny humans." Vetto said as Mythical Beast Magic flared around him and coated his arms and legs his grin as broad and feral as ever. "It's disgusting to even think that you have a chance against met. You're belief that there is strength in numbers is nothing more than an illusion. You don't know what true bonds are, your teamwork and trust is nothing but a farce that you humans mimic because you don't understand it. You have no hope of winning but keep it up, I'm going to relish in the taste of your despair when I take away that hope. Now die!"

At that Vetto roared and the cavern shook. They all knew what was coming and countered right away.

"He's coming!"

"Get Ready!"

"All right!"

"Now!"

All four spoke at once and moved as Asta rushed at Vetto while Akame dove to the side and plunged through a portal that appeared there and took her to a far wall so that she had something to push off. As the portal closed, Asta was yanked up by Vanessa's threads and through a portal that spat him out to Vetto's left hand side his sword point towards Vetto. Vetto sensed this and roared, wiping around, and swiping with his right hand, the Mythical Beast Magic forming a claw that he was bringing to bear on Asta.

However, Asta was instantly yanked away again and into a portal as he did Akame, who'd pushed off the wall with enough force to crater it as Vetto brought his claw to bear, shot through one portal and out of another one on what had been Vetto's right hand side and still at her angle of descent to slash two deep cuts along Vetto's back as she passed though he managed to use his magic in time to reinforce his spine as she cut, his back arching as he roared in pain and came to his full height.

Akame was already through another portal that appeared in her path and whisked her away before Vetto could do more than that. As the Beast Mage roared, Akame was spat out across the cavern with enough space to reorientate and land on her feet. That wasn't Vetto's concern though because as Akame cut him another portal had opened above and to his left side from which Asta fell, his speed increased by the threads and roaring as he did.

"I'm not done!" Asta shouted as he slashed down before being whipped to the side by a thread as blood burst from a cut across the hollow of Vetto's right shoulder and Akame charged.

"Yes!" Noelle said smiling.

"Going to take more than that!" Finral said as he created a portal in front of Akame but slightly above her at around head height. "We need more!"

Akame saw the portal and knew Finral's intentions so without hesitation or breaking stride she leapt up and through it and was almost instantly emerging from a portal right in front of Vetto that was at his head height now as he staggered from the back to back blows he'd just taken. Already Akame had the swords that she was carrying low and to her left side as she emerged and then spun the moment that she could.

Only Vetto's insanely fast reflexes saved him from being decapitated by Tatsumi's sword while his head was bisected by Akame's katana. That and the stagger from Asta's hit had put him back enough to use the momentum from it to add to his leap away so that the swords only opened up a line along his neck and another across his face right where the red marking there. Neither was deep enough to kill but he howled in pain as blood burst from the cuts, the lower one was quickly staunched by his self-heal but the top one not stopping as the blood ran down his face from the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

Vetto didn't have time to focus on overriding whatever it was that Akame's katana could do to prevent wounds from closing as Asta was already bouncing through a myriad of portals that where now all around Vetto. At the same time Akame kicked off the air and flipped sideways into a portal that took her to another wall which she could use to build up her speed again rather than give Vetto the time to counter her attack with one of his own.

All four knew how this had to be, they needed to do all they could to get Asta close as his sword would do the most damage to Vetto's magic and that could in turn allow for Akame to get in and use the smallest of openings to land the killing blow. So that was what they were focused on as Akame pushed off the wall and entered the portals as Asta burst up from one on the ground and in front of a grinning Vetto as the Beast Mage's eyes went wide at that but managed to step back and away in time to avoid the attack. Vetto didn't have time to counter though as Asta being pulled into another portal right away.

The next few moments followed a similar pattern with Akame and Asta shooting between portals while Vanessa controlled Asta's movements with her threads and Akame using Mana Zone, the walls, ceiling, and ground to redirect herself as the pair moved almost too fast for the eye to see. Vetto was in the center of it all as the pair passed him, Mythical Beast Magic glowing on his hands and legs as he tried to keep up but even his reflexes and senses weren't enough to track two opponents who could move this fast and change directions this rapidly and harshly.

The result was a series of cuts from Akame's swords, Vetto seemed to be more willing to take those than Asta's even with the issues that taking Kiriichimonji's slashes gave him, and some near misses for Asta. He wasn't smiling anymore as he tried to counter but Akame and Asta were now too quick for him as they flew all around him, the goal to strike as many superficial blows as possible to slow him down and whittle away his strength over time without taking a hit in return and the latter was more important.

As they did this, the people outside the Temple watching on the magical screens that Gifso's magic had created for them to watch the earlier game cheered as the four Black Bulls fought hard against the monster never giving up. Likewise, Gifso himself cheered them on from the observation room that he and Yami were stuck in wanting payback for what Vetto had done to his family.

Even Yami was just watching this impressed by the battle at hand and especially how Vanessa and Finral, who were normally useless on their own, were pushing past their limits to help Asta and Akame in the battle. Together they were something else and the way their magics complemented each other showed their true potential in battle.

Despite all this Yami had a bad feeling as he watched the battle. Despite a brief moment of concern when Asta and Akame started their rapid attacks, Vetto was now smiling again which gave Yami the sense that what his Squad was currently doing still wasn't enough. Yami wasn't the only one who realized this as in the cavern Tatsumi too was watching the passes closely and critically his wounded gut was telling him that this wasn't enough.

There was no question that they were doing well, easily the best they'd done all battle, Tatsumi could see that, but still it was taking all they could just to keep this up. Vanessa couldn't lose focus for a second or else Asta was done as it was her threads that were the main tool of evasion for Asta, so it was a good thing she wasn't also aiding Akame as that would be too much for the older woman, while the tension was clearly near breaking point for Finral.

He was powering through that, the strain on his face evident and Tatsumi was impressed but still, he didn't like this and he knew that Akame wouldn't either if she had a second to truly focus on the situation. However, Tatsumi also knew that Akame she wouldn't give up until the mission was completed or she was unable to fight any more so he watched and supported his girlfriend from where he was as she worked to find that brief moment that she needed to land the finishing blow.

Alas that wasn't going to come and Tatsumi saw it a split second before Vanessa did, Vetto was adapting. At the start of this onslaught they had the upper hand with their increased speed and mobility but after only causing glancing blows, most of which Vetto was making sure to take from Tatsumi's sword as they healed, but now his timing was almost right. The only saving grace was that the focus was on Asta because if he removed that threat then he could deal with Akame head on and that might work to their advantage.

"There it is!" Vetto cried out triumphantly as Asta came down from above and to the side while Akame was falling back through a different portal giving Vetto the small opening that he needed. "Got you now, brat!"

Vetto leapt back and away from Asta as he spoke but then, as Asta was nearing another portal he brough around the claw of Mythical Beast Magic over his right arm and into Asta's path. Only a last second yank from Vanessa on one of her threads that pulled Asta sideways saved him from being eviscerated but it wasn't fast enough to prevent Asta from taking a glancing blow to his side from the claw. Thankfully, it wasn't fatal but Asta still fell backwards through a portal and bounced off the ground, his momentum was destroyed and thus Asta's attack run had ended.

This wasn't all though because Akame had been moving at the same time and Vetto had factored that in as well. She was coming down from above predicting that Vetto would leap back from Asta's attack but because he'd predicted Asta's path and moved to intercept, Vetto was able to finish his move by continuing the slash around and bringing it into Akame's path as she fell swords parallel and over her head.

In most circumstances an attacker in Akame's position would have been a goner but she had training, the ability to read ki, and Tatsumi's armor on her side and sensed that the attack would cross her path a split second before it did so she was able to get her swords down and cross them over her chest taking the blow on the flats of the blades with a boom. Vetto had the physical and magical strength, along with the positioning, on his side and cackled as he pushed through the block and blasted Akame back, the talons of the magical claw breaking past the block to score holes on her chest plate though they didn't reach her skin.

It could have been a lot worse even with the armor but as Akame was being blasted back Vanessa was able to get one of her threads onto back of Akame's collar and yank her away adding to her backwards momentum. The result was that Akame flew backwards faster than she would have from Vetto's hit along and through a portal behind her before she could really process more than the fact that he'd blocked the attack.

As such while Akame landed on her feet just next to Asta as he got to his hands and knees from the near miss panting from what happened, she slid over the ground and slammed back first into the wall with a boom that kicked up dust and covered her. It was a heavy hit and everyone, even Vetto, turned to look at the dust cloud.

"Akame!" Noelle cried. "Asta! Are you ok."

"Yeah, just fine." Asta said with a grimace as he raised his hand to the growing patch of blood on his side from where it had been raked by Vetto's magic. "It's nothing, I've had worse. Only a glancing blow, that's all."

"I'm with Asta, I'm good." Akame's voice said from the dust cloud. "Gotta say, this armor is something else Tatsumi. Going to have to practice with it a bit to really get the hang of fighting with it on but damn does it help. I'm sore but otherwise ok."

"Great then let's go!" Asta said with his usual enthusiasm. "I…"

"Hold up kid."

The voice was Captain Yami's and seeming to come from above them. They'd heard this before when he'd used whatever the High Priest had with him that allowed the pair watching them to talk to them from the observation room so they all looked up at it and listened as Yami continued.

"Fighting close like that you should know better than anyone other than Akame that that blow didn't just glance you." Yami continued before anyone could talk. "He's been trying to learn your timing, how you and Akame work off each other, your battle quirks, your weaknesses, your moves, the way the portals and threads work, everything. He's been holding back to do so, playing defense instead of offense for once. It shows that we have him worried but also that he's not some dumb brute, he knows battle and he's adapting to it. If you fly in there hasty and unprepared, well, next time that's going to be fatal."

"The Captain's right." Tatsumi called out. "I didn't fully notice it, only that he was adapting to our timing, but that's a classic defense into a counter strategy. He's not shown that at all until now, couple feints sure, that is why I've got this hole in me, but nothing that's actually indicated that he's worried before. Fight smart and calm, that's how we win."

"Couldn't have said it better myself my love." Akame said as there was a slight tumbling sounds and a second later she walked out of the still rising dust cloud, swords in her hands and down to her sides blood staining their blades from her successful slashed while her own blood ran down the left side of her face. "Sorry, was kinda stuck in a wall for a second."

As she walked the holes in her chest plate closed up and the armor seemed to thicken. It wasn't just there; all the pieces did while spikes formed over her gauntlets and shoulder pads as if it was adapting to taking the blow and the fight so far to better fit what Akame needed while not impeding her at all. That was what it was doing, it was Tatsumi's magic after all, and it was really showing its worth as Akame came to a stop next to Asta.

"Emotions are good but don't let them rule your actions in battle, I've seen too many friends die because they let their emotions get the better of them." Akame said as she looked out at Vetto. "Remain calm and don't ignore or brush off what happens to you. Haste and blind attacks will lead to death."

"Is that true?" Noelle asked from where she was the worry clear in her voice.

"A dark swordsman and two assassins from another world reborn into ours, all of them know these things." Vetto said with a chuckle. "Your battle instincts are some of the finest I've seen. The assassins will make a fine appetizer and you, dark swordsman, you're going to be an excellent main dish for me when I'm done here. Still, knowing my strategy and even having someone who can truly fight against it won't change a thing so what do you expect they'll do with this information? Nothing, that's what. All this does is season your despair even more so come on and attack whenever you want you pitiful humans, because the next one will be your last!"

"How do you know that it will be, you overgrown furball!" Asta shouted back though he took the words from Yami, Akame, and Tatsumi to heart even if he was about to protest them. "Or the rest of you! Captain, Akame, Tatsumi, we can't know what will happen unless we try it!"

"The hell I don't know, I'm a trillion times stronger than you." Yami's voice echoed out clearly annoyed at what Asta was saying. "And you are aware of Tatsumi's experience, which by the way is a fraction of what Akame's is. They know war unlike what any of us do and that includes me!"

"Captain's right." Akame said. "I've been in countless battles and faced many formidable foes, we have to be smart. Even, even my last battle back then I maintained calm despite what happened right before it."

"So? We can still try!" Asta shouted though he missed what Akame was fully getting at as she didn't directly mention the whole catching Tatsumi as he fell and died so she held his body in her arms right before her own final, fatal, duel with Esdeath. "And if you're right, Captain, then how about you quit watching and get down here already! Show us what you mean!"

"Oh you went there now." Yami called back really angry now though more at his situation than at Asta. "Hitting me right where it hurts. Don't you think that I want to be there in the middle of the fun! I owe that beast a hell of a beating for breaking my last katana, I'm still paying it off! Gah it's freaking killing me that I have to watch all this play out without taking part. I am so pissed off right now."

"We can tell Captain." Finral said trying to mollify Yami. "We do wish that you were here."

"Yeah, would be nice with you as well." Vanessa added.

"I know and I'm working on it but until then, kid, Akame." Yami said his voice calming down a bit. "I'm not telling you guys not to attack him, you've gotta do that to beat him, but rather what I'm saying is that ya can't attack like you just did. You can beat him, he's finally showing concern which shows me that he knows that he's vulnerable, but he's still a strong and experienced warrior so you four have to be smart about it. I know that you can so Finral! Vanessa! Akame! Kid! You lot know what to do in a time like this so let me hear you all say it!"

"Right here." Asta said.

"Right now." Akame added.

"We'll all push even further past our limits!" All four said at once.

At that Asta yelled and charged, Akame a step behind him slowing herself to play off Asta as his sword was the best one they had to fully incapacitate Vetto, and the one that he was clearly most concerned about, so they could use that to set Akame up so that she could finish Vetto for good. As they ran Vanessa got her threads ready and called out that they were going to go even faster and for Akame to play off things just like before.

Akame did just that as she sensed Asta's speed pick up as Vanessa took control of him with her threads and he veered off to the side so Akame picked up her pace to match Asta's speed, her magic and Tatsumi's via the armor she had on boosting her to match what Vanessa was doing for Asta. As such both reached and began to run along opposite wall at the same time but in different directions as Vetto tried to follow them. However, before he could Finral created two portals, one in front of each of them, that they dove through at the same time.

The corresponding portals appeared in a diagonal from each other, one above Vetto to his right hand side and one below him to his left. It was the latter that had Asta and Asta roared as he shot out his sword thrust out before him and getting Vetto's attention causing the Beast Mage to turn to Asta and slashed at him with the claw over his right arm as Asta slashed him, both grimacing from the exchange showing that both took glancing blows.

At the same time Akame flew out of her portal and down at Vetto, his turn putting his head out of range which was part of his plan to deal with her, and her speed too great to change course. That was fine with Akame though as she just slashed him with both swords a second after Asta because in a battle of attrition against a dangerous beast like Vetto any little helped.

Vetto of course managed to reinforce and bulk up the magic coating his left arm so that Tatsumi's sword glanced off it with a few sparks but nothing more. However, Akame's katana went under his arm and scored a deep line, the deepest it had scored all battle, along Vetto's side from below his ribs to his waist. Instantly blood welled up and began running down from the wound as he roared in pain and Akame got clear via the portal that Asta had used while Asta himself was yanked through Akame's portal.

That was just the start as the portals began to appear and disappear like they had before only this time they were doing so more rapidly and Asta and Akame speed up, Vanessa working with the former while Akame pushed herself and the boost she had to the limits and past them to keep up. To the naked eye they were just blurs as they moved around, playing off each other and striking Vetto whenever they passed him as he tried to keep up but even he was struggled to do so as the pair slashed past sometimes from either side, sometimes opposite sides, sometimes at staggered intervals.

It was clearly frustrating the Beast Mage and he was now constantly on the defensive as he tried to move around and avoid the attacks and then counter but not always successfully and so more and more cuts appeared on his body. That was just what they needed as they pressed because eventually it would all add up and either Vetto would make a mistake or he'd start to really feel the blood loss from the unhealing wounds, either way they'd capitalize on it.

As they worked both Vanessa and Finral took note of the fight and how hard the pair were working to take down Vetto and they were both inspired by it. For Vanessa, seeing Asta especially fight with everything he had despite not having any magic, it filled her with a courage she'd long forgotten about because she'd suppressed the memories of her childhood in that cage that her mother had confined her to in the Forest of Witches where she was forced to wait until she learned the spell she was apparently able to learn.

She never did learn that spell but she did find courage to leave when Yami stumbled into the Forest and inadvertently freed her because the other witches attacked him. She realized that she wasn't destined to remain in that cage for the rest of her life and left it and the Forest of Witches, finding her place with the Black Bulls.

That was reinforced now as she shouted at Asta to trust her and just attack which he shouted back he already did as she moved him around Vetto allowing Asta's sword to score a line on Vetto's abdomen. As that happened, Akame burst from a portal behind Vetto going for a double thrust into his back that Vetto was forced to leap to the side as he sent out his magical claw at Asta while Vanessa was pulling him away the attack.

The claw never reached Asta as he was pulled into a portal that Finral made and Akame turned and kicked off the air to suddenly change her direction and continue her attack on Vetto going for the opening. He was able to get his magic coated right arm back in time to deflect the blows, though the tip of Tatsumi's sword got through the magic and pierced his forearm for a moment, but as he brough his left arm around, magical claw out, Akame swung her legs forward and kicked off the air in front of Vetto and backflipped into another portal that Finral made to get her clear.

As all of this was happening Finral was noting that this was almost too fast for them to handle. Akame may not be as passionate as the other two but she was in her assassin mode as Finral had come to notice and that was just as bad as it focused her mind on the task at hand and killing her target without any mercy or hesitation so she was easily matching the other two.

Still, this whole thing reminded Finral of his own upbringing and how he'd never had the offensive Spatial Magic that his family was famous for but his younger half brother did. That had led to ridicule from his father and brother, his loss of inheritance because Langris could uphold the family's legacy better than he could and was now the Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn, and the failure that Finral had become. He'd even cast off his family's name of Vaude for his late mother's name and become, well, what he became and until Asta showed up Finral expected that that would be his life with the Black Bulls.

However, Asta showed Finral in that cavern that he wouldn't give up despite facing a stronger foe while not having magic in a world where magic was everything. It showed Finral that it could be done, that he could possibly one day stand up to, and even challenge, his brother. Finral knew he'd never be the strongest mage out there but he'd do whatever he could to make the Black Bulls the strongest squad in the kingdom using his own fighting style, something Yami had once told him about fighting not just being about attacking sticking with him as he did all he could to help Asta and Akame out.

"Asta, Akame!" Finral called out as he kept making and closing portals for the pair to use. "I won't fuck this up! Trust me!"

"Too late, already do!" Asta shouted as he moved through while Vetto also sped up trying to counter him as Akame did the same making sure that her pace never fell behind Asta's. "I trust you completely!"

"Same!" Akame shouted. "Keep it up, Finral! I know you can do this! I trust you!"

"I'm impressed, together you four aren't half bad." Vetto said with a laugh as he regained his normal composure. "But you're near your limits and if even one of you slips up for a fraction of a second then you'll all be dead and the rest of you will die as well. How much longer can you drag the inevitable out? Just submit to despair already!"

"Shut up!" Asta shouted. "We'll keep this up for as long as it takes to defeat you!"

Vanessa and Finral were amazed that two of the Squads strongest fighters where trusting them completely right now, their lives in the hands of a drunken lush and a superficial slacker and yet they did so without any hesitation or doubt as they continued to press Vetto. As such neither Vanessa nor Finral would do anything to betray that trust.

"You're not doing too bad; I must commend your ability to focus on supporting them." Vetto said as he felt a lull and turned his cut and bleeding body to the pair of support mages. "Although I doubt your magic's holding out well, you've got to be near the bottom of the barrel, for a human that is. Absolute power, that is the definitive difference between my kind and…"

"Absolute power means nothing, I've seen that first hand!" Akame shouted as she suddenly came out of a portal closer than any so far that had just appeared behind and above Vetto's left shoulder. "My love took down such a power with his own so we can slay a mythical beast!"

This had been what Akame had trusted Finral to allow her, a brief moment where Vetto was gloating and being arrogant in the middle of the battle knowing that while Vetto was full of himself he was still a powerful foe who wasn't wrong as they were nearing their limits. Finral's portals were shrinking, Vanessa's threads screaming, and even Tatsumi's armor was starting to crack, as they all tried to keep things up so they needed a definitive moment and this was it, a close strike for Akame to use her katana to end it.

That was why she had it in her right hand above her head and was already bringing it down, the blade as sharp as she could manage it as she pushed past her limits and swung down with all her boosted strength because even a severed limb with it could end Vetto as he wouldn't be able to staunch the wound in time. Alas they again underestimated Vetto's speed as he canceled the magic on his left arm and turned quickly to Akame before reigniting it again and sending a condensed claw out to catch the blade in it and away from his body like he'd done before only without any skin to steel contact.

However, as the Mythical Beast Magic coated the blade, Vetto clenched the claw and suddenly a dark brown corruption spread to the katana. Akame could tell right away that this was no normal corruption and that the blade was toast so she simply let go of it. She fully trusted Finral and Vanessa and expected that they'd set her up so she didn't need Kiriichimonji anymore and let Vetto destroy the spell in and explosion of metal as she fell directly down.

As Akame fell a portal opened beneath her feet and above the ground just as a thread grabbed her ankles and yanked her down through it increasing her speed as her katana was destroyed. Before Vetto could full process it another portal appeared over his head and Akame fell through it still being yanked by Vanessa's thread as hard as Vanessa could manage. As she emerged from the portal, Akame moved Tatsumi's sword into both hands and held it over her head, point down, and stabbed as hard as she could, a yell escaping from her throat as she aiming for the top of Vetto's head.

Only Vetto's animalistic sense of self-preservation and speed saved his life in that moment as he was able to just move forward and to the left so that Tatsumi's sword didn't enter his skull or even his back where his spine was but instead pierced him behind and below his right shoulder blade. Akame still plunged the blade deep, the reinforced, non-magical, and sharp as hell sword going through Vetto's back, his right lung, and bursting out of his chest right below his rib cage with a spray of blood as Akame drove the sword almost to the hilt.

Vetto let out a roar of pain as his blood splattered the ground and Akame panted her feet on his back and right hand on the handle of Tatsumi's sword for stability. As she did she left right hand in the air and a magical blade in the shape of a straight razor appeared that she grabbed the handle of and brought around, her right hand moving to Vetto's hair and taking a fistful, wrapping it around her hand and wrist for added stability, ready to open his throat with a single, swift, slice as she yanked Vetto's head back.

However, despite the pain that he was in, Vetto wasn't dead or out of the fight as he roared through it all and brought his right arm up, Mythical Beast Magic coating it ready to grab and destroy Akame's head in it as she brought the razor around to his throat. He might have succeeded had Asta not rushed in with the aid of Vanessa's threads and cut through the magic coating Vetto's arm with a roar though he missed hitting Vetto's arm by a fraction of an inch. Then, before Asta could follow it up, he had to be yanked back and through a portal as Vetto instinctively punched out with his magic coated left arm now that Asta was within range.

As such all Vetto was able to really do was grab Akame's head in his bare right hand and as she slashed his arm with the razor, cutting it deeply but with Vetto's self-heal it wouldn't do much, and try to kill her with his raw strength. However, as he did, a helm that matched Akame's armor began to form over Akame's head complete with spikes that pierced Vetto's hand as he clenched it thus protecting Akame. With that plan failed, Vetto just roared and pulled Akame from his back and over his should to slam her back first into the ground so hard that it cracked and her body bounced up and off the ground.

Akame realized that this was coming and at the last minute she let go of the razor and Vetto's hair and grabbed Tatsumi's sword with both hands as Vetto was pulling her off him and used his own strength to yank the sword out of his body opening up the wound and causing blood to flow from the now large wound in his body. Vetto's self-heal kicked in and began to work but he paid it no heed as he slammed Akame into the ground with the bone jarring crash, her armor the only thing saving her, and then he spun a full circle before he threw her away to the side like the trash that he considered her to be.

There was no time for Akame to do anything and she was too dazed even if she could. Thankfully, she now had a full helm complete with spikes over her head that protected her as she crashed sideways and back first into the wall with enough force to crater it, blood bursting form her mouth as she coughed it up and dust billowing up to the ceiling. Everyone was staring wide eyed at the point as Akame coughed from within the dust and fell sideways, Tatsumi's sword falling from her limp hand and she tumbled out of the crater and the dust cloud and to the ground, landing in a heap on her side.

The armor she wore was cracked and held out for only a second longer before it burst apart in a flash of magic showing that it had reached its limit. However, it had done its job until the very end and saved Akame's life though she now lay on her side, bloody and bruised and pretty much out of the fight. Despite this she was panting and conscious as she lay there her eyes never leaving Vetto as blood ran down her face and pain rocked her body.

"That was the most impressive attack so far, including that royal parasite's as that could have actually killed me if you'd hit mu other side." Vetto said panting as blood ran down his chest and back but his healing was sorting it out. "But if that's all you got then…"

"All that show's is that we're going to win!" Asta shouted as he burst out of another portal having used the brief moment that Vetto was distracted and unable to move as he recovered from Akame's attack to get into position, yelling as he held his standard sword in both hands. "Akame's attack proves it!"

"Brat, you'll…" Vetto began as he thrust his right arm out at Asta, a claw of Mythical Beast Magic forming and going for him but as it closed a mirror suddenly appeared at the edge of the battlefield and a blast of magic shot from it hitting Vetto's arm and forcing his whole body away thus allowing Finral to create a portal that Asta dove into sword first.

"It's not just those two backing them up." A new voice called from above them as Vetto slide back over the ground his feet creating groves in it. "Looks like we made it just in time."

Everyone who could, including Akame, though all she could do was move her head as her body was too badly hurt to do more than that, looked up towards the voice. They recognized it as Gauche's and he was standing there on a small ledge with a tunnel behind them. He was flanked by two girls, all three of them with grimoires out. One was Charmy but the other, a cute blue haired girl in a blue and white dress thing under a Black Bull robe that was cowering a little behind Gauche, was unknown to all of them.

"Yeah we're here as well." Charmy said clearly ready now that her magic had recovered a little as Asta slid out of a portal in a crouch near them. "We won't let anything happen to our friends!"

"Gauche?" Charmy! You're here!" Asta said looking at them in turn and then at the shy blue haired girl. "And, um…"

"That's Grey." Gauche said surprising them all. "And believe it or not that's actually what she looks like. It's not a joke, she ran out of magic when we defeated one of that beast's lackies and her transformation fully dropped."

"What?!" All those conscious said eyes wide and mouths open in shock at the revelation that Grey was actually a cute and pretty petite girl.

"Please stop looking at me!" Grey said burying her now red face buried in her hands, her voice shy and high pitched. "It's embarrassing!"

"Save all the questions for her for later." Gauche said his grimoire floating open next to him and suddenly mirrors appeared all around Vetto just like the portals had done before. "Take this you beast! This is all the magic power that I can muster! Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain!"

It had taken a little while as Gauche, Grey, and Charmy had to recover their magic after their battles with the Eye of the Midnight Sun underlings, and use Charmy's magic to restrain the two underlings that they'd beaten in their area, but they were here now and adding their own power to the battle. Gauche started it with his spell, a beam of Mirror Magic forming between the mirrors as it bounced off them and then down at Vetto who began to dodge it and other strikes of Mirror Magic from Gauche's spell.

"What are you insects playing at?" Vetto asked as he dodged the attack. "You think that with enough blasts one will land?"

"No, I think that you're exactly where I want you." Gauche said looking down on Vetto from his vantage point. "Now fivehead!"

"Cotton Creation Magic." Charmy said as the cotton seemed to billow from her feet before it took the form of a massive cotton sheep with angry red eyes that rose behind her. "Strike of the Sleeping Sheep!"

That got Vetto's attention as the massive cotton sheep formed and punched at the ground for strike one the force sending chunks of rock from the ground. It then punched again for strike two in the same spot sending up more rocks and kicking up a smokescreen. The sheep then punched its third strike and sent it all over Vetto ending the spell though the sheep did not disappear.

"So you're going for a smokescreen, good luck with that." Vetto said as he created a large hand of Mythical Beast Magic and pushed it away showing that the dust was nothing to him but as it did one of the rocks transformed into Asta and yelled as it came down at him. "What the hell!?"

Vetto had to turn slight to destroy it with a slash of his magic coated arm but as he did more and more Asta clones appeared and flew down at Vetto all yelling in Asta's voice. Akame saw this and realized that it had to be Grey's Transformation Magic. She'd deal with the whole revelation of Grey's true form later but for now she'd add to it as the fake Astas dove at Vetto, her grimoire floating up and to her side as it flipped to a page.

"This is all I have left, after this I can do one more thing to aid you Asta." Akame said as Vetto fought off the attacks. "Thanks for the cover Grey. Blade Magic: Guillotine Rain!"

"What how is this happening?" Noelle asked as several heavy, slanted, blades appeared above Vetto's head and rained down as he was fighting off the fake Asta attacks. "And what are those blades? Akame's clearly behind it but I've never seen anything like that before!"

"I've used my Transformation Magic to make some doubles of Asta out of the rocks." Grey said in a timid voice from where she was crouched behind Gauche. "But as I'm low on magic some aren't quite right, sorry."

"And those are guillotine blades, they were used in executions in my old life and used gravity to decapitate the condemned so this is an application of them in spell form." Akame said blood running from her mouth as she reached out her hand and spoke concentrating on the mana right around Vetto as he was destroying the fake Astas and dodging raining guillotine blades and Mirror Magic blasts at the same time. "Now for my last act, the rest is on you Asta but I believe in you. Mana Zone: Thousand Cuts!"

At that Akame as she clenched her fist and Vetto let out a roar of pain as several superficial cut burst out all over his body, his Mana Skin protecting him from the worst of it but the fine blades that Akame created with her Mana Zone spell doing the job and adding to the chaos that was currently distracting Vetto. She just smiled as her hand fell down and she exhaled, her magic and energy spent. All Akame could do from now on was force herself to stay conscious and watch the end of the battle from where she was and hopefully recover enough magic for one more spell just in case.

"Nicely done, didn't expect our assassin to add to the plan but damn does that work." Gauche said as the sheep began to strike the ground again and again kicking up more dust and debris for Grey to use. "Fivehead, keep going with the sheep till you're out of magic. This is it!"

"Aye-aye!" Charmy said doing as instructed while Vetto roared in frustration at what was going on.

"I've had enough of this!" Vetto howled. "It's time I plunged you filthy humans into the pits of eternal despair!"

"Yeah, right, like we'd ever despair against you!" Asta roared as he suddenly burst from a portal to Vetto's left hand side, sword out and in two hands and fully extended aiming for the gash that Akame's katana had left there earlier in the battle. "Who has time to waste on that anyway!"

At that Asta reached Vetto, who was still distracted by the fakes that were attacking him though the guillotine blades and Mirror Magic blasts were done at least, and plunged his sword into Vetto's abdomen just to the left of his impressive abs. Thanks to Asta's speed and strength the sword punched into Vetto's gut and then out his back as the Beast Mage let out a howl of pain, his body arching from the serious blow that he'd just taken.

Everything that Gauche, Charmy, Grey, and Akame had just done had been a set up for this very opening. The moment that that had appeared, Finral, Vanessa, and Asta had capitalized on it to land the most decisive blow of the battle so far.

Vetto just roared in pain as for the second time in only a matter of moments he'd been fully run through by a sword though as with the last one nothing vital had been hit. Regardless, Asta had done it, he'd reached Vetto and plunged their best weapon into the Beast Mage.

"Amazing." Finral said as Vetto continued to howl.

"Asta did it." Vanessa added smiling at the result. "He really did it."

"Never doubted that you could pull it off." Akame said as Grey, Gauche, and Charmy all cheered.

"It's over." Noelle breathed her hands over her chest before almost all of them said together. "We won!"

Only Tatsumi sensed it. Due to his situation, and the destruction of his armor on Akame ending his concentration on that spell, he'd focused on watching the exchange and had made sure to keep an eye on Vetto and his ki.

As such he'd picked up on what Vetto had done a fraction of a second before Asta reached him. Usually Akame would have noticed as well, more likely actually given her extensive battle experience, but she'd been focused on her spells and with her current state she'd missed it. Thankfully Tatsumi hadn't but he was too late to warn Asta in time.

"Asta! Let go!" Tatsumi shouted before he devolved into a coughing fit that spewed blood but he pushed through it. "He let you…"

"Too late, good eye though." Vetto said with a chuckle as Tatsumi began coughing again and he suddenly grabbed Asta's arms with his own, Mythical Beast Magic flaring around them as he did and his hair standing on end as his magic surged. "You've not won anything you pathetic insects!"

There was a snapping sound as Asta's arms were broken and he let out a gut wrenching scream. Vetto laughed over Asta's scream, his mouth in a broad grin as he relished in the screams that he was hearing. It was about time that he got some true despair from this brat.

"Did you really thing that your meek human power could stand up to mine, or even bother me?" Vetto asked rhetorically his voice louder than Asta's continued screams. "That was a fatal mistake on your part. I knew that all of that was just a cover for you, I knew that your attack was coming and took that blow on purpose. If you didn't notice I made sure that it was in a place that wouldn't kill me just like I've done with all the other blows that I've taken to make sure that I beat you pathetic humans! In this case it was also to steal your weapon. Your defilement of the Demon-Dweller sword is at an end!"

"What? Why would he do that?" Noelle asked her eyes wide as the others gasped. "That's insane! To take a hit just to steal Asta's sword? What kind of madness is that?"

"It's not madness, he knows that he can be healed so he can afford to take a non-lethal blow." Tatsumi said pain in his voice as blood drippled down his chin. "It's a bold tactic but against Asta's sword it works. A cornered animal will do what it can in order to win though this was more calculated."

"Yes, I was willing to take this to defeat you because I know full well that when all hope is lost true despair sets in." Vetto said his three eyes glaring down at the screaming Asta though he wasn't responding to the Black Bulls, just ranting at Asta, and relishing in his coming despair. "It's profound and unshakable. Now, at long last in this battle, the time has come for that true despair to come out. Be ready for you are going to be plunged into its depths!"

"No." Noelle said her voice soft and filled with horror as everyone stared in shock at what was going on and Asta's arms turned a brownish black from whatever Vetto was doing to them, the corruption spreading slowly up them as he continued to hold onto Asta. "Please, not Asta, not now."

"There it is, that's the very scream that I've been waiting to hear from your lips and deep within your weak body!" Vetto said triumph in his voice as he drank in Asta's pain. "Yes! Wallow in all this delicious despair brat! You deserve nothing less for what you've done! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair!"

Vetto kept the last word up over and over again as he laughed and Asta let go of his sword, and fell backwards and out of Vetto's grip, not that Vetto seemed to mind. Asta managed to stagger a bit so that he flopped forward and onto his knees, his arms limp by his sides and head down in front of Vetto as the Beast Mage continued to rant and rave above him.

"No…" Noelle said as she too fell to her knees, no one else able to speak as they watched the scene before them.

"Yes, how does it feel brat?" Vetto said laughing as he spoke arms bent and to the side now with Asta's sword still in him as if it was nothing. "You'll never recover from that! Not that you'll live much longer anyway but show me all that delicious despair before I kill you!"

"No, not yet."

The voice was soft so only Vetto's sensitive ears and proximity could hear it but it was Asta's voice and it caused Vetto to shut up. As he did Asta lifted his head, no despair in his eyes or body, and roared his defiance once more.

"I'm not done yet!" Asta shouted as he slowly got to his feet. "It's not over, I refuse to give in! I'm not giving up! None of us are!"

Between his words and the very fact that he was able to get to his feet and stand before Vetto caused everyone to gasp as the temperature in the room shifted yet again. There may have been despair brewing when Vetto broke Asta's arms but Asta's raw defiance rekindled the embers within the Black Bulls as they stared at him.

"How?" Finral asked his eyes wide as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. "How is he standing? To do that after what he's been through, it's unbelievable."

"Doesn't matter how, all that matters is that that's right." Vanessa said grinning her hope renewed by Asta's defiance. "Tell him kiddo. We've got you're back."

"We can still fight!"

The cry came in unison from all the conscious Black Bulls. Even Akame and Tatsumi, neither of whom could get up at the moment, joined in willing to surpass their limits once more to lend whatever aid they could as Vetto's grin fell and his eyes went wide at the defiance and lack of despair the Black Bulls were showing. This was not what he expected and he roared in anger as he held his right hand above his head and Mythical Beast Magic erupted from it ready to deliver a killing blow to the brat in front of him.

"Now Vanessa!" Tatsumi shouted sensing the shift in Vetto's ki. "This is it! One more push and we will win!"

"On it!" Vanessa said as she sent out several threads and yanked Asta back away from Vetto causing him to miss and strike the ground sending up a wave of dust and debris erupting upwards from the impact.

"So you've got some fight left, that means nothing!" Vetto roared as he leapt up out of the dust cloud and at Asta as Asta was flying backwards all his limbs glowing with his magic. "You can't run from me brat!"

"He's not." Tatsumi said as he focused what magic he'd recovered and suddenly a large, sturdy, shield appeared before Asta blocking Vetto's view and path as Asta fell back through the portal that Finral just made for Vanessa to yank him through. "We're not running from you!"

"Stay back beast!" Gauche shouted at almost the same time as he blasted Vetto with a beam of Mirror Magic as Vetto slashed Tatsumi's shield to ribbons while all Gauche's attack did was knock Vetto off course but that was enough to ensure that Asta got way as Vetto landed on the ground and slid over it, hands on it to stabilize himself. "Who's despairing now!"

"That's it." Grey said from where she was next to Gauche her arms around his right arm and too terrified to remember her feelings for Gauche and how embarrassing this was while Charmy grabbed Gauche's left leg. "That's the last of our magic."

"No!" Charmy wailed as the mirror Gauche had used to attack vanished.

"Asta's right, we're not giving up!" Noelle said as she stood up and thrust her want out at Vetto as he began to walk towards where Asta was. "And we'll never lose, least of all to you!"

At that Noelle fired off a powerful and fast water bullet. It was pure magic but it got Vetto's attention and he turned to bat it way, a sign of Noelle's growth as her shot was accurate. However, as Vetto successfully deflected Noelle's attack, three long, thin, blades slammed into his back as Akame used Noelle's attack to cover her own though this was all she could form at the moment.

They didn't go in deep and Vetto ignored them as he turned to the disappearing portal over the raised bit of the floor that Asta had created when he'd deflected Vetto's first attempt to kill the royal parasite after unsealing his true form, the blades sticking out of the right side of his back and Asta's sword still in his abdomen. He didn't care for such flesh wounds as he strode towards the brat that was now kneeling on the stone island his stolen grimoire floating open next to him.

"Asta, are you ok?" Finral asked as Asta panted there. "You can still fight, right?"

"Yeah I'm good." Asta panted. "I'm not done, not by a long shot."

As he panted Vanessa questioned if the fates themselves had chosen Asta to be without magic because of who he was and what he was capable of. Regardless, after today she knew that he was destined to do great things and would be a force of change in the world just as Akame and Tatsumi were in their own right only from a different angle. As such it was the Black Bulls duty then to help Asta fight and guide him when he needed it and so Vanessa kept pushing her magic even further past her limits as she conjured more threads and whipped them around to grab Asta's arms.

"Here kiddo, I'll support your broken arms with my threads." Vanessa said as her threads bound Asta's arms giving her full control of them. "Let me make sure they can work."

"Thanks Vanessa, that's just what I needed to finish this." Asta said with a grin. "My arms may be broken but I can still fight thanks to you guys!"

"Finral, this is the last stretch so get ready." Vanessa said as Finral cried next to her. "We've come this far; we've got to finish it."

"Oh, yeah, I, I can do this." Finral said more to himself than anyone else as he wiped his eyes and set himself. "I'm ready."

At that Asta pushed off the ground and flew forward, his speed boosted by Vanessa and her threads while Finral got ready to act. Tatsumi smiled as he watched Asta, the tenacity and determination of his junior was just what they needed, so long as Asta could fight and the other two could aid him then no matter how slim it was, they still had a chance to win this battle. Also there was the fact that Asta still had one sword available to him and which he grabbed with Vanessa's help as he tore towards Vetto.

"Why human?" Vetto asked stunned by what was going on. "Why do you not despair? You should be in the throws of it after all I've done to you and your friends and yet you still don't fall!"

"Because I don't have time for it!" Asta shouting paraphrasing what he told Vetto before as he flew at the Beast Mage, the Demon-Slayer sword in his hands and out in front of him and a vision of Yuno filled his mind. "There's someone who I can't let beat me in our shared goal, no matter what. We made a promise that I refuse to break, a promise that you and your despair are getting in the way of!"

"That's enough talking you pathetic human worm!" Vetto roared. "You don't get to talk of promises and keeping them, not when you humans only break them! You still don't get it, it doesn't matter what you do, I can…"

However before Vetto could finish his rant Asta's trust in Vanessa and Finral was shown once again as rather than a head long charge he flew into a portal and once again began to fly between them as several portals appeared all around Vetto. This time, however, Asta was going too fast for Vetto to follow, or at least that's what he thought but Tatsumi and Akame at least could tell that Asta's speed wasn't that much faster than it had been before.

"Something's off with his ki." Tatsumi said weakly from behind Noelle as Vetto looked down at Asta's sword that was still in him and tried to keep up with his movements while Tatsumi focused solely on Vetto's ki. "He's worried about something. Asta's not much faster than before so what's changed? Something's happened to slow him down and I don't think it's the wounds Akame inflicted though those might be helping."

"What do you mean?" Noelle asked Tatsumi as she watched and Vetto realized what was really happening, his eyes wide as he looked down and stared at the sword still buried in his abdomen before he suddenly reached down to grab the handle of the Demon-Dweller Sword and with a roar he ripped it from his and threw it away. "Wait, didn't he let that hit him so that he could steal it from Asta?"

"That sword, it drains magic, right?" Tatsumi asked thinking on it.

"Yeah but…" Noelle began but before she could finish Vetto bellowed in rage interrupting her.

"I won't lose to you humans!" Vetto roared. "Your lives are mine to take!"

"You've been too focused on our despair Vetto." Asta said as he flew between portals. "Or else you would have noticed that you've been losing this entire time! Not one of us who've gone against you has given up no matter what you did to our bodies. Even when we couldn't fight directly we still helped be it Kahono's voice or Tatsumi's armor for Akame, we've fought on despite our injuries. No matter how hard you've tried to make us despair we've never once felt it. You failed!"

"Silence!" Vetto shouted. "How dare you defy me!"

As he did the magic flared off him and the ground cracked sending rocks into the air that he then punched at Asta but with Vanessa and Finral's aid Asta easily avoided the attacks. However, they did prevent him from getting close to Vetto and he crashed to the ground near where Noelle, Tatsumi, and the unconscious combatants were currently sitting against the cavern's wall.

"Asta!" Noelle shouted worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, this works well for us." Tatsumi said as he looked out and saw the magic that Vetto was about to blast at them fade from his arm and shock flooded his ki as his magic failed. "Asta's plan has come to fruition, it just took a bit given how much damned magic that beast has."

"What do you mean?" Noelle asked confused.

"The sword, it was in Vetto's gut for so long that it drained his magic." Tatsumi said a bloody grin on his face. "And without his magic, well Vetto's nothing more than a muscle bound beast covered in unhealing wounds and he's got nothing on our muscle bound beast and those helping him."

"I don't need my magic!" Vetto shouted. "I will still kill…"

Vetto suddenly fell silent and Tatsumi and Akame sensed true fear in his ki for the first time all battle. None of them could see why, nor could anyone else for that matter, but Vetto could and he saw the form of a true devil appear before him and above Asta as wind whipped through the cavern and Asta got to his feet, his sword in his right hand by his side.

"You're not killing me, I'm still in this battle." Asta said the seriousness clear in his voice and a strange sensation emanating from his ki that Tatsumi and Akame picked up on as it was a power they'd never felt come from him before. "I'm not giving up, none of us are."

At that Asta began to walk forward towards Vetto the wind swirling around him as everyone watched. Tatsumi focused on Vetto's ki and sensed that for the first time all battle he was truly afraid of any of them and that fear was directed solely at Asta. That was because Vetto realized that Asta was no beast as what little magic he had left flared over his arms for close combat, but rather a devil. Like Vetto, Asta feasted on despair and he wasn't giving up as he broke into a run and charged at Vetto once more.

Vetto roared and Asta roared back as the former set himself for the coming battle but as with before Asta was already ready and leapt off the ground to fly at Vetto with the aid of Vanessa's threads his trust in her as strong as it had been all battle. There were no portals this time though, only sharp changes from Vanessa and the occasional push off the walls like Akame had done to zip around Vetto faster than he could track with his magic depleted and the slowness that blood loss was starting to cause him. As a result, this time every single pass of Vetto's body resulted in another cut to it.

Vetto roared again and tried to fight back but he couldn't, Asta was too fast and kept moving around as his speed built up until finally a portal appeared right where he needed it and Asta flew through it and out the corresponding on that allowed him to bear down on Vetto. This was it, the final attack and Vetto tried to match it with a punch but he was too slow now, his moves easy to read, and so with a quick tug Vanessa got Asta over the fist with a flip so that he was now above Vetto his great sword in both hands above his head and too close to avoid.

"Hey despair!" Asta roared as he bore down on Vetto, nothing between them now and no way for Vetto to avoid the attack. "This is where you lose!"

At that Asta brought the Demon-Slayer Sword down and into Vetto's right shoulder and upper chest with all the strength he could muster. The sword struck home and Vetto was driven down and into the ground with a yell, a shockwave bursting from the impact and a tornado of dust shooting up to the ceiling of the cavern blocking their line of sight for a moment while the ground cratered under Vetto.

As it cleared they all watched in amazement as Asta flipped over Vetto and landed on his ass past the Beast Mage as Vetto himself flopped back to the ground his eyes white, mouth open with blood running out of it and limbs splayed as he lay in a small crater. A long cut ran down the right side of his chest from his shoulder to his waist and blood was slowly pooling around him from all of the cuts Akame's katana had inflicted upon him.

As if to finish everything his grimoire closed and fell limply to the ground next to him no longer glowing but still intact showing that he was alive. They all just stared at what had happened until Noelle voiced what they all realized.

"His magic, it's gone." Noelle said no sensing any magic power coming from Vetto's body. "He's unconscious which, which means that it's over. We won! We actually won this time!"

"Ha, take that you jerk." Asta said as he slowly got up the threads still on him but not looking back at Vetto where he lay behind him. "See, we didn't despair and we beat you. We…"

Before Asta could finish the threads yanked him back and over Vetto to Vanessa and Finral. As he was flying back pair rushed forward caught him in their arms and embraced him, Vanessa's hat flying off to the side as they hugged Asta.

"Man do you have any idea how incredible that was?" Finral asked as they held Asta tightly.

"I never doubted you for a second, Asta." Vanessa added. "We all didn't. We knew that we could win because of what everyone did, you were the final piece to keep our hopes up until the very end."

"That was amazing!" Charmy shouted.

"I'm so glad that you didn't let the despair get to you Asta." Grey added from where she was now sitting her face hidden in her hands.

"Damn, that loudmouth's got some serious guts." Gauche said. "I thought that the cave was something but this takes it to a whole new level."

"We knew that in the end it would come down to you Asta." Tatsumi said smiling as he watched his friend be embraced by Finral and Vanessa. "We all made sure to do our part to help you out."

"Yeah, and thanks to you no one died, I didn't lose any friends today." Akame said still unable to move from where she was. "Thanks Asta, you showed again how it can be done."

"Hey guys could you, er, please stop!" Asta said the pain clear in his voice and face though no one could see the latter as his eyes bugged out. "I'm super hurt! Like everywhere."

"Oh sorry." Finral and Vanessa said at the same time, releasing him right away.

As the Black Bulls in the cavern spoke they could hear the cheers from outside as the Underwater Temple inhabitants cheered and thanks them for saving them while Gifso echoed it in the observation room. Only Yami wasn't cheering because he'd also sensed Asta's power at the end and was wondering what kind of power that was.

"Welcome to the injured club." Akame said with a small smile. "Though I think Asta wins the pain battle."

"That shouldn't be a competition you know." Noelle said super glad that Asta was ok and that the battle was over as Vanessa came over to check on them starting with the unconscious people. "But at least everyone's alive."

"Yeah, how are everyone's injuries looking?" Asta asked walking over to look at the stull unconscious Luck, Magna, Kiato, Kahono, and Gio. "Will they be ok?"

"Oh we're just fine, badly wounded but still alive." Tatsumi coughed out and spat out some more blood. "But if Charmy has any magic left I could use some cotton to help staunch this wound, and some thread to hold it in place until a healer can look at me that would be great. Also something strong to drink, I really need to wash the taste of blood out of my mouth."

"You're conscious and talking so you're not too bad." Vanessa pointed out as she checked over Kiato who with a missing leg was probably in the worst shape. "They're serious, Tatsumi's not wrong there, but not life threatening. Still, they will need a specialist healer but I'm sure that there are a few here."

"Well can someone move me to the others then?" Akame called out still on her side. "I'm not crippled or anything but my body won't move after that final two body slams. That and I think using that armor takes some adjusting."

"I think so, sorry." Tatsumi said. "I've never used it before but it likely took a lot out of you."

"Don't worry my love, it was worth it." Akame said. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"You two can be so cute." Vanessa said looking over to Akame. "And one moment Akame, we need to move all of you out of here and find some healers. Finral, can you transport them with a Spatial spell?"

"Sorry, my magic is fully depleted now so it's going to be a while before I recover enough to move people." Finral said apologetically. "I pushed it to the very last drop in that fight."

"Then what are you good for?" Gauche asked. "Gutless good-for-nothing."

"You can't talk to me like that, I'm your superior!" Finral said turning to Gauche and glaring at him. "And for the record, I was key in that victory."

"Well while we wait on Finral, here Akame, I still have a bit of magic left but not much." Vanessa said as she used her threads to gently pick up Akame and move her to the wall with the others so that she could sit next to Tatsumi and rest against it. "That's the best I can do for now."

"Thanks Vanessa, this is just what I need right now." Akame said with a smile as she let her head fall and rest on Tatsumi's shoulder as she sat there arms in her lap. "I don't mind waiting like this."

"Me neither." Tatsumi said with a smile closing his eyes and leaning his head to rest it on Akame's.

"Poor Kiato and Kahono." Asta said looking at the unconscious siblings. "I really hope that they'll be ok after what Vetto did to them. They've got to be, if magic exists to regrow an arm then it has to exist to fix them as well."

"You should probably be more worried about yourself, Asta." Finral said. "You trusted us and in response you were torn to shreds. It's a miracle that you're still standing. What were you thinking?"

"Yeah especially when you're counting on an unreliable person like Finral to back you up." Vanessa said while everyone nodded and vocalized their agreement. "That takes some serious courage."

"Wow that's harsh." Finral said. "I mean yes I did want to run away the moment that I saw, well felt, Vetto but once I saw how determined everyone was, especially you Asta, my body just moved on its own."

"He's right, it was all you kiddo." Vanessa said. "You refused to quit fighting and inspired us to do so as well."

"It was yours and Akame's trust in us to keep you safe that we were able to win." Finral said smiling. "We beat that monster all because of you guys."

"Please, I don't know what you're talking about." Asta said.

"They're right." Tatsumi said opening his eyes and looking at Asta as Akame nodded from his shoulder. "Your spirit got me to push past my limits and keep Akame's armor up so that she could fight alongside you."

"Plus in a battle like that, the only way we could win would be if you could motivate Finral and Vanessa to fight as one and not be their usual selves." Akame added. "It was their Support Magic that was key to victory against someone like Vetto, we couldn't have beaten him without it I think. Only you could motivate them to step up when we needed them the most."

"Akame's right, usually I'm too drunk and Finral's too cowardly to help." Vanessa said with a smile. "We couldn't have done that without you Asta and the trust you put in us."

"I knew you'd be there though." Asta said smiling at them. "You're senior squadmates handpicked by Yami, all of you are, so of course I trust you. I trust Yami's judgement and if he chose you for the Black Bulls then he knew what he was doing."

"It really means a lot to us that you do." Vanessa said before she looked over to Akame. "You too Akame, I know you had to trust us as well and we've not been the most reliable squadmates when it comes to missions."

"Yeah you're making me tear up." Finral said rubbing his eyes.

"Asta's right, you were chosen for a reason and when we needed you the most you stepped up big time." Akame said. "I know that trust and faith that Yami has in us as well as anyone given my own path to recruitment. Plus now you've survived your first real battle without a scratch so I can really let loose with you guys."

"Right that." Vanessa said with a chuckle as Akame hadn't really bothered with that standoffish part of her past what with how death was less common in the Magic Knights then in her old life. "By the way, what did happen when I lent you my bathing suit?"

"Not now." Akame said flushing while Tatsumi went even redder next to her. "Or ever. This isn't about that, it's about how good our senior squadmates are."

"Yup, we are pretty awesome, aren't we." Charmy said proudly while Vanessa just smirked knowing that she'd get all the gory details out of Akame the next time the girls took a bath. "Another victory for us so bring on the victory feast!"

"Personally I think that we're lucky that Yami picked you to be our new rookie Asta." Grey said peeking out between her fingers at Asta. "He's picked some good ones lately and all that paid off today."

"It is Yami after all." Gauche said. "Who else would pick a magicless, musclebound, loudmouth to be a Magic Knight. Look at the rest of us, we've got two felons, a glutton, a drunkard, a failed cowardly womanizer, and whatever Tatsumi and Grey are so what's one more oddball to the mix."

"Hey, Dorksta, isn't the only rookie that Yami recruited this year." Noelle said in an irritated tone as Gauche left her out. "He did pick another. I may be an exiled royal but I'm also a Black Bull too you know!"

"Of course, Noelle!" Vanessa said turning to the younger girl. "I hear you were pretty amazing too."

"Don't need to hear it." Akame said her eyes glancing towards the evidence. "Look at the wall, that massive hole was Noelle's doing. It was a really impressive spell."

"I can see, that's gotta be an incredibly powerful attack spell." Vanessa said as Noelle flushed at the praise she was receiving. "Knew you could do it Noelle."

"Yeah it was awesome!" Asta said his own voice filled with praise. "I've never seen anything like it! Sea Dragon's Roar, it was something else entirely and without it we wouldn't have forced Vetto into that final stage of his and thus beaten him in the end."

"Good." Noelle said eyes closed and cheeks red as she tried to play it cool, and failed miserably at that. "Keep the complements coming, I did do my part in this victory after all."

"You're cute too!" Finral added. "Really cute!"

"A perfect royal!" Charmy said.

"You're almost as arrogant as Mine but like her you truly care for your friends." Tatsumi said. "And when needed the most you stepped up in a big way and without almost blowing my head off in the process."

"We knew you had it in you." Akame said. "And you showed a strength I've not seen from any other royal here which gives me hope for the future of our kingdom."

"Well that has nothing to do with how I fought or the role I played in the battle but it's accurate so I supposed it's acceptable." Noelle said her eyes still closed as she was hoping for a similar compliment from a certain musclebound idiot, not that she would love that more than the other complements that she got of course. "Well for the most part that is."

"Hey." Asta said but instead of complementing her he patted Noelle on the head and rubbed it again smiling at her.

The result was as expected, Noelle's eyes flew open as she screamed and went bright red at the contact as Asta removed his hand. He just looked at it in confusion as Vanessa and Akame both sighed at Noelle's reaction to Asta's own form of complimenting Noelle.

"Stop it!" Noelle screamed. "What sort of twisted, Finral like thoughts were you thinking!"

At that Noelle did what she always did in a situation where her subconscious feelings tried to break through and bask in Asta's touch and praise but her strong denial of them slammed them back down, she pushed Asta away. Between the surprise and his arms Asta had no chance and fell back to the ground and rolled over it.

"I wasn't thinking anything just complimenting you!" Asta complained as he rolled away.

"Oh, right, yeah, sorry." Noelle said her guilt coming as soon as she realized what she'd done.

"Well now that we won I say that it's time to raise a glass and celebrate this victory!" Vanessa said as she produced a bottle and raised it over her head breaking any tension that Noelle's actions may have caused. "Who's with me!"

"Now's not the time for that!" Asta said looking up at Vanessa from where he'd stopped after Noelle had pushed him. "We've got other things to sort out first."

"Where did she get that bottle from?" Tatsumi asked. "Or have it on her for that matter."

"It's a question that is best left unanswered." Akame said.

"I don't care about the bottle." Asta said as he slowly got to his feet. "We've gotta find a way to secure Vetto so we can haul his ass out of here. He's got that freaky third eye on his forehead, he said some weird stuff about my swords, and he's one of the big shots in the Eye of the Midnight Sun, we can learn a lot from him so we've got to get him back to headquarters."

"He might be too dangerous to move." Tatsumi said looking over at Vetto unaware of what was going on in Vetto's mind as he lay there, none of them were. "My spell won't hold him, it's strong but his magic dwarfs mine so he can break out of Gibbet Cage if he wanted to."

"We could just kill him; he's dying anyway as the cuts I inflicted with Kiriichimonji won't heal unless Asta hits them with one of his swords." Akame said. "Tatsumi and I have standing execution orders for people like him. It won't be too hard in his state and I can use Tatsumi's sword to do it. Probably best to decapitate him if I'm honest, safer that way as we'd know that he's dead if we remove his head."

"We're not killing a defeated foe." Asta said looking at Akame wide eyed. "I get your orders but he's more valuable alive so we've got to restrain him and stop the bleeding. I can do the latter but we need the Captain for the former as his binding spell could hold Vetto."

"Just saying." Akame said. "I know the value he has alive but sometimes it's too hard to achieve that when dealing with a fanatical and powerful enemy like him."

"We'll keep that in the back pocket." Tatsumi said. "I agree that it's better to just execute him now but Asta's does have a point. I say we stick Asta's normal sword in him for a second tom so as to keep his magic drained and then bind him the old fashioned way with some sturdy, non-magical, steel. That should work."

"Right, that's a good idea." Asta said though as his arms weren't working that well he needed some help. "Vanessa, can I get some help to…"

"You filthy humans!"

The roar came from Vetto as a memory he was having from before the genocide of his people, one where Licht gave him hope for humans after what they did to a little bird, pushed him over the edge and Mythical Beast Magic flared around the eye in the center of his forehead. That got everyone's attention and they turned to Vetto as the magic exploded around him and covered his whole body as he lay there. This was not good and not what any of them thought possible after Asta's final blow on him.

"What the hell! His magic's back?" Vanessa asked her eyes wide. "How?"

"No it can't be, we won." Finral said worry in his voice. "This shouldn't be possible."

"You will never win because if I can't beat you then I'll just take you with me!" Vetto roared as his body rose off the ground, magic covering it and forming a sphere around him, his grimoire open next to him though they all noticed that his normal eyes were still white as if he wasn't fully conscious. "Every single one of you! I'm going to blow this entire temple to smithereens! No one will survive!"

"Right this moved from capture to kill." Akame said as she snapped her head up while in the observation room Gifso questioned what was going on and Yami punched the table knowing that there was no way that they could stop Vetto now and needing to bust out and get to his Squad to aid them because even Akame and Asta combined wouldn't win. "Vanessa, get me up and move me like Asta!"

"What?" Vanessa asked as Grey wailed and hid behind Charmy, her arms around the younger, shorter, girl as Charmy herself wailed and stared at what was going on.

"Akame, we've seen this before back in the cave near Nean." Finral said. "Remember, not even three Magic Knight Captains could stop it. It's like their leader's power only this is much more savage and powerful! How can we hope to stop it!"

"So? This is the perfect time to try and find a way to defeat it and I'm sure killing Vetto will end it." Akame said as her grimoire opened and she pushed what magic she had left into her first and best spell. "Blade Creation Magic: Murasame!"

"Wait is he going to blow himself up?" Vanessa asked as she looked around and noticed her threads were burning up from the sheer magical power that was coming from Vetto. "My threads can't handle this and the power is only increasing."

"Push past it and keep at the edge of his range." Akame said as the handle of her katana appeared from her grimoire. "I trust you Vanessa, you got this. Get me up to his height and I'll do the rest."

"Alright, here goes." Vanessa said as she dismissed all her current threads and snaked some more out and around, hugging the walls until they reached Akame to bind her arms and body with them before Vanessa hoisted Akame up into the air while guiding her hand to Murasame's handle at the same time. "You think you can manage it?"

"Only one way to find out." Akame said as she grasped the handle and Vanessa helped her pull it out. "But as a precaution, Finral prepare a portal to drop Asta on him. If nothing else that's magic we're facing so his sword should nullify it and then my ranged attack can hit and kill him."

"Well be quick, we can't get closer to this." Gauche said. "I'm not even sure if Asta can manage it."

"That doesn't matter, Akame's right nothing's changed." Asta said as Akame was moved to above them. "Send me at him right before Akame attacks just as she instructed, I'll do my best to nullify this magic."

"Good that will give me the clean shot." Akame said as she moved her arms, the move telling Vanessa what to do and she helped Akame get Murasame above her head in a two handed grip. "I'm going to need a few seconds anyway."

"No, no, no!" Finral began before realizing what he was saying. "Actually never mind, we've come this far we've got to see it through to the very end even with this latest horror. I can't be a coward again."

"Finral, if you help us pull this off then I'll go on an actual date with you." Vanessa said as she conjured more threads for Asta's arms while Akame focused on the mana in the room and began to condense it around Murasame's blade, her grimoire flipping to a blank page and filling in a new, well augmented, spell as she pushed her Mana Zone skills past their limits. "Whatever kind of date you want, I'll go."

"A date! Now we're really talking!" Finral said going bright red and snorting. "Let's do this! Count on me Asta, I got you."

"We've got to pull this off." Noelle said trusting in her squadmates. "We can, we've come too far to fail now."

"I'm in, no one keeps me from Marie and lives." Gauche said. "Slay this monster Akame and make the world a better place for Marie."

"Priorities Gauche." Tatsumi called out as he focused on all his remaining magic to try and make some shields for everyone if it came to it. "But there's no way I'm backing down, I'll do what I can from here."

"We're going to destroy that beast and then I'm gonna feast on every ounce of seafood down here!" Charmy yelled. "I won't be denied my dinner!"

"I'm terrified but I'll do my best to help!" Grey called out. "Though I don't know what help I will be."

"That's it, I'm almost there." Akame said as Murasame hummed in her hands, bucking a bit from what she was doing but Akame kept condensing the mana around it as she fought to get her sword under control. "A few more moments."

"Alright! Come and get us!" Asta roared up at Vetto. "We're…"

Asta was cut off by a loud boom behind them that shook the ground and kicked up a lot of dust and several chunks of the rock from the ground. The sound was someone landing on the ground with a lot of force and before anyone could turn to it, though Akame, Asta, and Tatsumi sensed the familiar ki, a voice they all knew called out to them.

"I miss anything?"

They all turned at the voice and as the dust cleared they saw their Captain standing behind them his katana out and to the side. It was certainly a surprise as he'd been held up by Spatial Magic but not an unwelcome one.

"Hey there dumbbells how's it going?" Yami asked. "Everything good?"

"Captain Yami!" All those conscious cried out.

"You came for us!" Finral added tears streaming down his face.

"Wait how is this possible?" Noelle asked. "Weren't you trapped somewhere by Spatial Magic? How'd you get out of that? I thought it was really hard to get out of extra dimensional spaces that some Spatial Mages can create."

"Yeah some annoying mage had me trapped with some Spatial Magic prison spell thing but that wasn't enough to hold me for long." Yami said, his desire to help his Squad and how much they'd impressed him allowing him to push past his own limits and learn a new spell that was just what he needed to bust out of that extra dimensional space. "Had to get a little rough with the guy who's trapped me but he earned it."

"What do you mean by rough?" Noelle asked. "Are we talking Akame level or what?"

"Hey, I'm not rough I'm precise." Akame called out from above as she almost got the mane condensed to her blade. "I kill quickly and cleanly, well as best I can, I don't beat people up."

"I'm guessing it's enough to knock the guy out but not kill him." Tatsumi added. "And in this case the former is better, another captive to question later."

"Whatever, would have been nice if you'd gotten here sooner." Asta said weariness in his voice. "We went through hell while you were up there watching us."

"Shut up." Yami said. "I've got my reasons; I can leave if I'm not wanted. Judging by what Akame's doing and her plan to drop you on Vetto I think that she can handle this if you don't need me."

"What!" Everyone said as Yami seemed to pout.

"Would still prefer you Captain, you're magic is stronger." Akame called as Gifso arrived on one of his monster creations and rushed to embrace his unconscious grandchildren and apologize for this being his fault due to the silly game that he wanted to play, same to his son Gio. "I've gotta use this spell though so if you don't mind my strength is waning. It's a bitch to try and control this much natural mana especially when I've never used Mana Zone like this before."

"It's a good thing that I decided to not let their Captain participate in the game." Gifso noted as he looked over at the Black Bulls. "The magic he has, he's some kind of monster in his own right."

"Akame's right, we don't have much time." Yami said sensing it in her ki, and well Vetto did look like he was about to blow up any second. "Let's end this."

"Alright with Captain Yami we're 100 times stronger!" Asta said stars in his eyes. "No a million, no even more than that! Let's beat the piss out of Vetto!"

"Hey where's all this cockiness coming from?" Yami asked as he shut Asta up before he could rant further by grabbing his head in one hand and lifting him up to eye level. "You getting a big head now because you thought that you could beat one of their top guys?"

"What cockiness?" Asta asked. "I just…"

"Don't worry, I can handle this on my own, kid." Yami said interrupting Asta as he put Asta down and patted his head. "You guys have already risked your lives fighting him, three of you are fully out of it."

"Hey, I'm still conscious over here!" Tatsumi called out. "That has to count for something!"

"But you can't fight." Yami pointed out. "And besides, you've really pushed past your limits Tatsumi, that new armor is something terrifying. In fact, all of you have pushed past your limits and now it's my turn. Your Captain can't be upstaged now can he?"

At that Yami began to walk forward but as he did he patted each of his squad member's heads saying their names as he did. At least until he reached Grey and paused as he put his hand still on the unknown blue haired woman's head last.

"Er, who are you?" Yami asked as he leant down to look at the newcomer who's ki was still familiar.

"Oh right, hi, I'm Grey this is what I actually look like." Grey said going red with embarrassment. "I was too embarrassed to show my real form before, or now but I don't have any magic to maintain a transformation."

"Oh ok." Yami said as he let go of her and walked forward. "The rest of you as well. Magna, Luck, real good work. Tatsumi, you really stepped up there, knew you could do more than be our shield and that armor you used on Akame reminds me of my homeland's armor. Akame, show off once I'm done. However, since you've all done so much already, I'll handle the cleanup. Ha, I'm kidding, this is the best part."

Yami grinned as he walked katana to his side and grimoire open while the others rubbed their heads and either flushed or gushed at the praise that he'd given them. Yami meant it, they'd all done an amazing job taking Vetto to this point and while Akame's spell might work, his new one would end it for sure. It was because of the bunch of knuckleheads that he'd recruited that Yami could push past his own limits and learn this spell.

At that Dark Magic flared off Yami's katana and into the air, more power than they'd seen before as Yami grinned. The spell was something that that freaky beanpole guy would do, or maybe Akame if she was forced to learn something like it, so it was a bit much for Yami but right now it was exactly what they needed.

"Don't waste your time! You won't be able to hit me!" Vetto cried out from where he was still building up magic above them clearly in the throes of madness now and likely not even conscious of what was going on. "You humans will finally taste the despair you so richly deserve! Yes despair! Despair! Despair! Despair!"

"Would you shut up about your damned despair obsession you freak." Yami said as Vetto kept repeating the word despair and Yami raised his katana above his head, both hands on the handle as Dark Magic coated the blade his stance the same as Akame's above and behind him. "However strong your magic might be, none of that matters now. This spell doesn't care for that because it slashes through dimensions!"

At that Yami tensed and then slashed down with his katana. A vertical line of Dark Magic shot off it and at Vetto as he glowed even more sinisterly above the Black Bulls and Temple Mages clearly at the brink of exploding. Yami didn't care for that as he spoke the spell's name just before it hit Vetto.

"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!"

The area seemed to go gray for a moment as the spell cut a line into the ground and ceiling and then hit the sphere of Mythical Beast Magic that was around Vetto and cut through it and then vertically through Vetto from head to groin going right through the center of his third eye in the process. As it did blood burst from the instantly fatal blow and he gasped his last breath. A second later, and with a twist of her arms, Akame fired off her own new spell unable to hold it back anymore and needing to release it as the threat ended and the Mythical Beast Magic faded.

"Mana Zone: Scimitar Slice – Infinity!"

The spell had been formed by the condensing of the mana around Akame's blade until it fully coated the steel so that Akame could strengthen and boost a Scimitar Slice spell with Mana Zona. Akame had thought that that would just enhance the power of the normal spell, not give her a second Mana Zone spell that was different as Scimitar Slice – Infinity was now a slice of Blade Magic that could cut through anything physical at least, and possibly anything magical, in its path though it took a few seconds to cast due to the need for Mana Zone and condensing the mana in the air around her katana.

Still it worked as intended and the horizontal slice of Blade Magic shot from Akame's katana and at Vetto's body. The spell needed to be cast or else there might have been a backlash from what Akame was doing to the manna so it was a bit redundant but it at least showed Akame how it would work in the future.

"Thanks, I owe you that much at least you overgrown furball." Yami said as Akame spell reached Vetto as his body began to fall and thanks to the angle hit his neck. "You toughened up my Squad after all but goodbye Mr. Despair."

With that the final traces of Mythical Beast Magic died down and Vetto's lifeless body fell to the ground, his head falling back and off at the same time as his body arched backwards. Only when it hit the floor of the cavern back first and his head bounced over it until it finally came to a stop did the Black Bulls and the denizens of the Underwater Temple know that it was true. The battle was over and the victors were the Black Bulls.

Well there it is, the end of the battle with Vetto and a chaotic one at that. Unlike the other chapters in this battle there really wasn't a place to break this one up as it was basically a continuous battle so I decided to just do it all in one go to conclude everything and set up the recovery and final bits of the Underwater Temple arc in the next chapter. The only other thing to mention here is more administrative than anything else as I am heading out of town for 3 weeks starting next week so I will be unable to at least edit my work (I will try to draft at least) so expect the next chapters in my Black Trio stories to be out in about 5 weeks as the other stories that are active also need to be updated. That's all that I have for y'all, however, so I will leave this chapter off here. As always, if you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.

Stringdog