“I swear I don’t know anything about the group that hired me beyond their name!” Baro cried out, “Look, all I know is they call themselves the Eye of the Midnight Sun and that they hired me to drain and collect the magic out of the stupid villagers in the kingdom!”

“That confession was surprisingly easy to get,” Theresa crossed her arms. “But I shouldn’t be surprised when you have two Black Bull who have family involved in the situation,” she looked over at the severely pissed off Gauche and a very annoyed Asta who’d managed to calm down, if only slightly.

Asta turned his gaze. “So, you-” he started to say to Neige.

“I just wanted some friends!” Neige cried, “Brother Baro said we’d all be friends once the job was done!”

“So, you kidnapped my Marie,” Gauche seethed, “Because you want to have her all to yourself!” he yelled, causing Neige to cower.

Asta immediately chopped him over the head with his palm. “That is not what he said at all, you idiot!” he turned his attention back to Neige, but with a calmer disposition than before, no one noticing the little mud doll Baro had sent over to his destroyed workstation. “Look…” He took in a deep breath. “You don’t need to put people under a spell to be friends. All ya have to do is go up and talk to people if you want to be friends,” he bent down, “I understand why you did it, but it's still bad. You have to answer for it, but if you want, I’ll be your friend starting right now?”

“R-r-really?” Neige said in disbelief.

“Really, really,” Asta smiled. “But first, you have to be held accountable for what you and your brother have done, okay?”

Neige nodded.

“I’ll even come by and see you on my visits to town when I check on the church and my family,” Asta's smile brightened.

Meanwhile, the little mud doll had made it to the destroyed table and started sifting through the wreckage, looking for a very specific piece of equipment. Baro was praying to anyone who’d listened to him in his head that the device was still intact. The doll then suddenly pulled out the device it’d been searching for. Miraculously, it was untouched.

Baro’s worry suddenly shifted into excitement, as did his frown to a manic laugh and smile.

“What are you smirking at, fat ass?” Gauche asked, “You’ve still got a lot to answer for after what you did to my Marie!”

“Now that you mention it, Gauche, I agree,” Asta turned to Baro, “You still need to answer for what you did to Marco!”

Theresa just looked at the two knights with a bit of a confused look, “You two… are a little more alike than you want to acknowledge…”

“What you say!?” they said in unison to the old woman, “I am nothing like this guy!” they said as they pointed at each other and then looked at each other, “HEY, ASSHOLE, STOP THAT! NO, YOU STOP IT! I SAID STOP COPYING ME, DUMBASS!”

Theresa just placed a hand on her face and shook her head slightly, “Great… what have I unleashed now?”

“I love my family, yeah, but not to the point I buy out an entire store’s stock!” Asta held up a fist.

“Well, maybe you should!” Gauche exclaimed, “That’s how I express my unyielding love and compassion for my dear Marie!”

“I’m nothing like this sis-con! I’m nothing like this idiot who's trying to steal Marie!” they said at the same time. “WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ME?!” they yelled, getting up in each other's faces.

Suddenly, a black portal opened about 20 feet away. Out of this came a familiar messy black-haired girl in very little clothing and black square-framed glasses. Sally had made her return.

“Well, helllllloooo….” She started to say until she saw the two arguing mages, “What the hell did I walk in on? A lover’s spat?” She rubbed the back of her head, then recognized her latest test subject, and then saw Baro. “I can see why you called,” she remarked with a wide grin as she sent several of her miniature gel salamanders over and freed the captives from Asta's spell by using the gel monsters to bend the light.

“Oh, thank god you’re here,” Baro said as he rushed over. “You’ve got to help us!”

“If you two are done,” Theresa cleared her throat, “I believe we have company.” She pointed to Sally.

“Sally,” Asta gritted his teeth hard.

“Hi, Asta! It's good to see you again!” Sally happily waved. “You better be ready to be my next test subject 'cause I’m coming for ya!”

“An ex?” Gauche asked.

“She’s a maniac bitch, who I want nothing more to with than to bury her ass six feet under, asshole! She’s a gel magic user and magic researcher in service with the Eye of the Midnight Sun,” Asta growled, “She’s with the ones who attacked the capital not too long ago.”

“So, you’re the REAL reason my Marie was in danger,” Gauche seethed as he activated his grimoire. “Mirror Magic, Reflection Ray!” he shouted as he sent a beam of light from the mirror that appeared.

“Yawn,” Sally said, “Giant Sticky Salamander,” she said lazily as a massive gel amphibian appeared in front of her and redirected the beam into the cave wall.

Gauche looked on, shocked at how it happened.

“What part of gel magic didn’t you understand, mirror boy?” Theresa remarked. “She’ll be able to redirect any of your light beams with those gel monsters of hers.”

“It also means most of my light magic is useless, too,” Asta tacked on. “I can’t really rely on my dark magic without using my light magic to buy me time,” he added. “Which means I need my black power instead,” he tightened his grip on his sword as it switched to anti-magic form.

“Hey!” Baro yelled, finally getting Sally’s. “I took the job of siphoning the magic off these brats because you guaranteed we’d be safe, and yet, here are two magic knights! You better hand over something to help out right now!”

Sally evilly smiled, “Oh, you say you want help?”

Asta’s eyes widened. “No!” he ran forward.

“Obviously!” Baro smirked as Sally pulled a giant syringe filled with clearish pink fluid and jabbed it into the mud man and pushed down on the plunger. “What… have … you done to me?”

Baro started to gag on his own mud magic before it completely consumed him, turning the poor mage into a massive mud giant.

“Brother Baro….” Neige said as he watched what happened to his older brother.

“Damn you, Sally!” Asta yelled as he brought his sword down hard, only for the gel mage to jump back.

“What’d I do?” she stuck his tongue out of the side of her mouth, “All I did was give him what he asked for.”

“By turning the poor bastard into a monster, consumed by his own magic power!” Asta shouted before quickly turning to block a punch from the rampaging Baro giant.

Sally snickered as Asta jumped into the air after he threw the giant off balance. “Well, that’s the thing,” she said as she appeared right on Asta's back. “The best part is watching the reactions and seeing the outcomes of an experiment! It's why I’m so into getting you,” she licked her lips. “You’re going to be my newest guinea pig!” she chomped down onto Asta’s shoulder.

Asta snickered as she cried out in pain while falling to the ground, holding her mouth as he landed near his team. “What the matter?” he snickered, “Is my taste not to your liking?”

Sally shakily got to her feet as blood ran down from her gums, coating her teeth red. “What did you do to your body just then?” She smiled manically, “It felt as if I was biting into a piece of iron! Oh, I must have you even more now! It makes me all hot and bothered from just the thoughts of all the experiments we can do!”

Asta actually recoiled from that comment slightly.

“What girl isn't into you?” Gauche asked, both pissed but also concerned.

“Hey!” Asta retorted, “I want nothing to do with that crazy gel scientist chick over there! Let alone anything she’s even affiliated with, ya big jerk!”

“Aren’t you two getting off track, AGAIN?!” Theresa yelled at the two. “You two are more like brothers than even you’d like to admit,” she grumbled.

“She’s right,” Asta remarked as he threw out a hand and created a barrier that blocked Baro’s next couple of blows. “I’m open to ideas, mirror boy,” he remarked.

“Brother,” Marie looked at Gauche with fear plastered across her face.

Gauche grabbed onto the left side of his face. “There’s no other way,” he said. “Look here,” he said to Asta as he pulled back his hair to reveal a mirror embedded in his eye socket. “My eye has been replaced by a magic item that amplifies my mirror spells, but it severely drains my mana in the process. As much as I… really hate…” he ground his teeth hard, “to admit it… Marie would be very sad if you died here, so I’ll help out for her sake, but not yours, not the old hag, and not the other snot-nosed brats.”

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Asta shrugged, causing the mirror-mage to seeth even more, but in light of the battle, chose to ignore the comment, “Does it work on spells, too?”

Gauche was a bit perplexed, “Usually. Why though?”

“I’m thinking you stay here and let me take on these two,” Asta explained, “Let’s face it… after these next two spells, neither of us will have much left in the mana tank. Let's face it, we’re not exactly at full right now either, but as is, my anti-magic swords are our best bet to stop them both. Sally’s gel will just redirect most of our offensive magic, and Muddy will pound us before my dark magic can really kick in.”

“So, what’s your plan? Run at them full steam?” Gauche asked while Asta gave a toothy grin. “You’re kidding?” He said as Asta kept smiling, “You’re not kidding…. You better not die, 'cause I’m the one who has to kill you!” He smirked as the grimoire floated up.

“You’re more than welcome to try when we’re not out on a mission, sis-con,” Asta snickered as his own light/dark magic grimoire floated on his left and his black grimoire on his right. “Let’s go!” he shouted as he charged in.

“Dark Magic: Dark Platforms!” he shouted, and several black platforms appeared in strategic places around the cave. Asta took in a deep breath. “Water Breathing,” he said, jumping up onto a platform and then another and another.

He was using his platforms to dart around as he started to cleave the mud giant a part, piece by piece.

“How is he doing this?!” Sally salivated, “What kind of enhancement magic is this!?! I WILL HAVE YOU, ASTA!”

“No thanks!” he replied as he dodged a punch, “Spoken for, so I have plenty of girls in my life already!” He jumped back and activated another spell, “NOW!”

“Mirror magic!” Gauche revealed his eye, and Asta looked into it, while several mirrors appeared around the cave. “Mirror Brigade!” he called out.

“Light Magic: Chains of Enlightenment!” Asta said at the same time, causing several pairs of his platforms to now have golden light chains between them. Several Asta’s come forth from Gauche’s mirror accompanied, by their own planes and changes. The Asta army was now bounding around the cave, using the chains as slingshots.

“Union Magic: Mirror Army!” they all say as they slash Baro to pieces, with their blades in anti-magic form.

“Just have to time it right,” Sally murmured as she'd snuck onto the ceiling. “Got ya!” she shouted as she landed on one of the Asta’s backs, “You’re mine now!”

“Sorry,” he said, “I don’t do crazy.”

“And you chose the wrong one!” the original came up from behind and slammed the flat of the demon slayer down on the crazy mage, robbing her of the last of her magic, while dealing a massive amount of damage as she rocketed to the floor.

A few moments passed, and Neige was looking over the cave at the scattered remains of his brother’s body.

“Brother Baro….” he wept.

Asta came over and placed a hand on his back. Neige looked back, with tears pouring from his eyes.

“I know it’s hard,” Asta said as he held out a hand, and in it was Baro glasses, “He was in a lot of pain, Neige. He wasn’t human anymore and would’ve hurt a lot of people if he was left like that.”

Neige shakily took the glasses and held them to his chest.

“We’ll take care of you,” came Theresa’s voice. Neige looked off to the side and saw the smiling sister looking at him.

“Let’s get out of here,” Gauche said, “I need to get Marie out of this nasty place.”

“Right, and we have a prisoner to deliver,” Asta looked over at Sally, as she was mesmerized by how he beat her.

That’s when a new black portal opened up, and out of it shot a golden beam of light straight at Asta. Theresa was the first to react.

“Asta!” she called out.

Asta used a blast of air to push her back as he jumped out of the way while three sword-like spikes embedded themselves in the ground.

“Oh, my,” came a calm and tranquil voice. “And here I thought I could finish you the quick and painless way,”

Everyone turned to see a beautiful man with multiple white braids of hair in a white robe with a three-eyed key symbol on his chest.

“Hello there, everyone. My name is Licht, and I am the leader of the Midnight Sun. It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Licht smiled at them. “Look at what you’ve done to poor Sally,” he shook his head in mock disappointment, “You see, this is what happens when you run off on your own, Sally.”

“I’m sorry, Master Licht,” Sally said with genuine remorse.

“Back you go, but first, Light Magic: Healing Light Particles,” Golden Light bits covered Sally as Licht floated near.

“Valtos,” Licht said as the spacial mage that Asta had faced before appeared from a portal, in a robe this time.

“At once, Master Licht,” Valtos gave a slight bow and then opened a portal underneath Sally.

“Rest well,” Licht smiled at her as she went into the portal.

“I will,” Sally smiled, then looked at Asta, “Bye-bye, Asta! See ya later.”

The portal closed as she disappeared into it.

“Now,” Licht looked to the others. “How shall we deal with you?” he asked in a little darker tone.

“Dark Magic,” Asta said, “Dark Reinforce,” he continued and dark magic covered his skin.

Licht turned to face them. “You will all pay for how you treated our poor Sally,” he held up a hand, and his grimoire glowed, “Light Magic: Swords of Judgment!” He waved his hand, and several light blades appeared then proceeded to fire upon them.

Asta threw up his hands, “Light Magic: Light Screen!” A wall of transparent golden light appeared before him, shielding everyone behind. “You’ve all got to run!” he said through gritted teeth, “I don’t know how long I can hold up this barrier!”

“We can’t just leave you here to fight them alone!” Theresa said.

“You’ll just be in my way if you stay,” Asta remarked as his barrier started to chip away and crack. “Those kids need someone to get them home!”

“Gauche,” Asta reinforced his barrier, “I’m trusting you to get them out of here safe!”

Gauche just looked at him, “Alright, I still owe you for trying to seduce Marie! So, you better not die in here, you bastard!”

Asta smiled.

Gauche and Theresa started to herd the children out towards the entrance of the cave.

“I must say I am quite impressed by not only your resolve but the amount of magic power you’re displaying. You show remarkable power, even amongst humans,” Licht said as he kept firing his swords. “No wonder you were able to even give Fragment such a hard time.”

Asta kept gritting his teeth as he maintained his barrier, but was still being pushed back as more of it was gradually chipped away or cracked.

“You’re not of this country so why are you trying so hard to protect those of this nation?” Licht asked as he continued to throw light swords at Asta’s barrier. “From what I know from Fragment’s explanation of you, you’re not even a native of this land. You or that purple-haired girl have nothing to do with those of this country, so why go out of your way to risk your life for them multiple times?”

Asta made sure that Gauche and the others were totally out of earshot before speaking.

“(Obviously),” Asta spoke in elvish, causing Licht’s eyes to widen while ceasing his assault, “(You know nothing at all, boy!)”

“Master Licht,” came Valtos from a new portal, “I’ve come to… Master Licht?”

“How do you know that language?” Licht asked, showing a bit of falter in his calm demeanor before he teleported in a flash of gold and reappeared in front of Asta.

Asta predicted his reaction and read his Qi. At that moment Licht appeared, Asta had the cult leader by the literal throat and then activated his anti-magic on his hand.

“Master!” Valtos started to act.

“Don’t move, skinny,” Asta ordered as he looked at the spacial mage out of the corner of his eye with a stare that meant instant death for not only him but Licht, too.

“(There’s a whole hell of a lot more going on behind the scenes than just the massacre of your village, boy,)” Asta told his enemy, “(I’d prefer not to be your enemy, elf.)” Licht’s eyes narrowed, “(But that ship sailed already. I’ll tell you this though, don’t trust Fragment at all. I don’t know what or who he is, but he is definitely not supposed to be in this world),” Asta said just as he let go of the man, dodging a magic bullet.

“Damn it,” Valtos sneered, “I’ll make you pay!”

“Calm yourself, Valtos,” Licht ordered, “I want him taken alive. There is much this human has to answer.”

“And what would that be about?” came the familiar tone of Captain Yami as he exited a portal with Finral.

“Why did I have to come?” Finral whined.

“Because you’re my ride back home,” Yami said. “So, Asta,” he turned back to face Licht and Valtos, “What are we dealing with here?”

“Finral,” Asta said.

“Yes?” Finral answered.

“Gauche is at the entrance of the cave system with Sister Theresa and the kids from town and a former hostile. Get them back to town,” he ordered.

“I'm your superior!” Finral retorted, “Who are you to give me orders like that?!”

“You want to stay and fight then?” Asta looked at him as he pointed over to Licht and Valtos, “Cause the skinny one is a spacial mage.”

“You said the entrance, right? I’m off!” he remarked as he opened another portal.

“You better come back!” Yami said, causing the spatial mage to waver slightly.

“Yessir! Will do, as soon as I make sure everyone is safe!” Finral said as he ran into the portal.

“Tch… freaking coward,” Yami snorted, “So?”

“The blonde is the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun,” Asta pointed, “You can have him. I don’t have enough magic to keep up with him as it stands from my earlier fight.”

“Generous today,” Yami said with a wicked grin. “Let’s get started then,” Yami pointed his new katana at Licht, “Your move, shiny!”

“Master Licht,” Valtos stepped up, “Allow me…”

“No, Valtos,” Licht said, “I have been wanting to test my light magic against this one for some time. The boy presented the right opportunity but ultimately was not the ideal mage who is my polar opposite. In fact, I’d say he’s more along the lines of the middle ground between the captain and myself, with both light and dark magic. With Captain Yami being present now, I found this moment just right.”

“The only reason you gave the boy a hard time was because he was busy protecting the kids, the old woman, and the mirror freak with a sister complex,” Yami took one last drag off his cigarette before tossing it off to the side. “Let’s dance Sparkles!” Yami smiled, “Dark Magic,” magic wafted off Yami’s new katana as he then effortlessly sent several slashes toward the elf leader.

Licht’s eyes widened suddenly. “Light Magic, Swords of Judgement,” he replied as he sent several swords to counter Yami’s slashes. “How did you do that?” he seethed slightly as he looked at the still smiling captain. “That wasn’t a spell at all. How’d you do that attack?”

“That would be my trusty katana forged by our boy Asta here,” Yami held up his sword while he motioned with his head.

“That’s right,” Asta held his hands up and both the Demon Dweller and Demon Slayer swords flew into his hands.

This caused Licht to falter slightly again. “Those swords,” his vision narrowed on Asta.

“I wouldn’t take my eyes off my opponent if I were you,” Asta said as he looked at Valtos, “I owe you some payback for the capital, skinny!”

Licht turned back to Yami who’d closed the gap then brought down his sword, sending out a massive dark magic slash.

Asta took off in a gust while Valtos barely managed to dive into a portal, “Damn… Moon breathing still puts too much strain on this… young body to use back to back after… a big fight like this without a pain nullifier, at the least...” he pant, “YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, CAPTAIN!?! YA COULD DIAL IT BACK WITH YOUR SUBORDINATE FIGHTING WITH YOU HERE!”

“Oh, suck it up!” Yami called out, “You dodged it, didn’t ya?”

“Yeah, barely!” Asta stomped as a magic bullet came for him, and he slashed it as he proceeded to look at Valtos, “I’m going to menace you into toothpicks, you skinny fuck!”

Valtos recoiled slightly from the look Asta was giving him. “Just what is this boy?” he asked himself, “Even Master Fragment, whose powers are on par with Master Licht and the upper members, is wary of this boy, even with this child in a severely weakened state he’s still able to able to cut through my most powerful assaults.” Valtos smiled, “I’d like to see you try your best, brat! There’s no way you could reach me up here without a broomstick at the least, and even then, you still have my portal to go through if you could!”

“I could just overpower this with anti-mana zone at its max, but then that would leave Yami at a severe disadvantage,” Asta thought as he slashed several incoming bullets. “But, I need the practice with my Qi sensing,” he chuckled. “Alright skinny,” he pointed at the slayer at the spatial mage. “Let’s play tag!” he said as he jumped into a nearby portal and came out another.

Valtos in the meantime panicked slightly and then started to fire more magic bullets into his portals in hopes of hitting Asta. Asta slashed the ones that came for him but also blocked the ones he couldn’t slash with the dweller or deflect with the slayer.

Licht, in the meantime, had created whips of light and was using them to keep Yami at a good distance away. The elf quickly found that getting up close with the dark swordsman was a very bad idea, as Yami was able to read his patterns and predicted the light mage’s teleportation arrays. His dark magic sword was also another nuisance the leader of the cult hadn’t taken into account, as when he moved in to cut the weapon in two, he quickly found the weapon to be very very durable but also sharp enough to the point that the air around the blade seemed to cut Licht’s magic swords before the two blades even clashed.

“Well, it’s been fun,” Yami smirked.

“Indeed,” Licht said with a somber smile. “But I think it's time we end this,” he teleported back, and a massive number of his light swords appeared. “Light Magic, Light Sworss of Judgement!” he waved his hand, sending the swords at Yami.

“Time to push my limits,” Yami closed his eyes and took hold of his katana with both hands, holding it out in front of his body. “Dark magic,” he said with a calm voice as he infused his magic into his sword, causing it to transform.

The blade started to glow a bright blue as the hilt and guards started to resemble black wafting magic.

“Darkness Unbound,” Yami said, not opening his eyes as he concentrated. He then began the cut through Licht’s incoming sword barrage one sword after another in a blur of motions.

“He wasn’t using the sword’s true form?” Licht said, taken aback. “Does his power really revival that of even the current wizard king? I can’t take that risk…”

Licht created a sword of light magic. Using their respective magic swordsman skills, the two opposing leaders clashed with each other. All the while, Yami was trying to get Licht to talk and reveal his reasoning.

“Guess it’s my turn,” Asta smirked as he dropped his sword, but the anti-magic spilled onto his arms to harden into armored-claw gauntlets.

“Let’s see how you fair against me and my claws, Skinny!” Asta smirked as his pupils became slits, and his teeth sharpened ever so slightly. Asta took a breath and adjusted his breath. “Beast Breathing,” he growled as he oriented himself on all fours and landed on the floor. “Black Claw,” he said as he turned into a blur while he darted through the air and easily tore apart Valtos’s portals one after another, leaving behind only the faintest trace of black anti-magic claw marks.

“Dark Magic,” Yami jumped back and took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, “Let’s see if I can imitate the kid a little,” he said as he opened his eyes while he turned his sword to the right. “Ito o settei shi, dākukuresento(Set Intentions, Dark Crescent)!” he said as he swung his sword, sending out a massive crescent moon slash of dark magic that easily cut through Licht’s light swords.

“This could prove to be very troublesome,” Licht remarked as he teleported out of the way while the slash cut through the cave and partially into him, suffering a major wound across his torso.

“Too slow!” Asta yelled as he blurred into existence in the air behind Valtos. “Beast Style, Furoggusurappu(Frog Slap)!” he yelled as he buried an open palm into the Spacial Mage’s chest, sending him flipping back into the ground near Licht’s feet.

Asta landed next to Yami and looked at his sword then smirked, “So, you were able to awaken it.”

“So, you knew it could do this?!” Yami pointed at the weapon with an annoyed scowl.

Asta just shrugged, “I had no clue it would change form like that.”

“Kehahaha!” Yami laughed, “All the same, it's a damn fine katana kid. It just takes a lot of magic to wake it up.”

“You two,” Licht said, getting their attention.

“Oh, yeah,” Yami scratched his head, “Slippery bastard teleported away.”

“You shall pay for what you have done!” Licht threw out a hand, visibly angry now as his grimoire flipped through itself, “I don’t care at this point. I will retrieve the sword from your corpse and gain information with Valtos and Sally’s magic! Now, LIGHT MAGIC: LIGHT SHAFT OF DIVINE PUNISHMENT!”

Licht glowed with a blinding golden light.

“Oh, shit,” Asta and Yami said in unison, “Dark Magic…”

“Black Cocoon!” Yami said and threw up a ball of dark magic to surround himself and Asta.

“Dark Reinforcement,” Asta said as Yami’s spell finished and used his magic to strengthen it into a solid sphere.

“Compound Magic, Black Ball!”

“Die!” Licht said as he blasted the ball with his light magic.

“What?!” he said as the spell died down to reveal the sphere unscathed before it burst open to reveal Asta and Yami struggling to breathe. “I must applaud you both for withstanding my most powerful spell, but judging on your states, I doubt you have enough mana left to survive another blow. Again Light Magic,” he began to glow, and light filled the room, “Light Shaft of Divine Punishment!”

Licht shot another blast at the duo when suddenly, a gleaming portal appeared in front of Asta and Yami. Both Finral and Gauche ran out of the portal, and Gauche activated his mirror magic just in time.

“Mirror Magic, FULL REFLECT!” he shouted, and a massive mirror appeared and reflected Licht’s spell back at the elf, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious after he was hit.

All of the Black Bulls sat in a circle off to the side, taking the time to rest as they waited for Finral to recharge.

“Finral, how much longer are we gonna be here?” Yami drooled.

“Oh, about five more minutes,” Finral shrugged, “since the last time you asked me! It takes a lot of magic to open up portals over long distances alone, and since we came to town from the base, I used a lot and then came here. Then, I had to move a huge group of kids, an old woman and a nose-bleeder who was extra worried about his sister!”

“Marie….” Gauche imagined his sister running into his embrace upon his return. “Don’t worry, my goddess… I’ve come back for you…” Blood ran down from his nose.

“And then back here again to save you and the girl stealer!” Finral pointed at Asta, “So, yeah, I’m tapped out, for now, so you can sit there and be quiet and wait like a good captain!”

“Then, what good are you if you can’t even do the one thing you’re good at?” Yami said with a flat look on his face.

“Leave him alone, captain,” Asta said, “He and Gauche saved our asses when they showed up, so you could be a little more grateful. Thanks for the save, Senpai.” He got up and walked over to a corner of the cave, away from the others, and sat with his legs crossed and shut his eyes.

“Ah…. You’re welcome,” Finral just stared at him. “He just stuck up for me…” he said to himself, “Hey, you should really stay with us, in case any enemies show up.”

“Leave him alone, Finral,” Yami blew smoke, “Can't you see he’s training right now?”

“Training, after that huge battle?!” Finral yelled, “Neither of you are in any condition to fight, let alone train!”

“WELL, DUH!!” Yami said, “He knows that.”

“So, what kind of training involves just sitting?” Gauche spoke up as he wiped his nose.

“Image training,” Yami took a drag on his cancer stick while both knights looked at him confused, causing the captain to let out a strained sigh, “It’s not really my cup of tea as I need to move around in order to get my mind going, but I’ll try and explain it anyway. Think of it as an imaginary fight.” He held up a finger, causing Finral and Gache to tilt their heads. “Seriously, are all of you guys numb to training? Basically, what you do is make a mental image of what it is you wanna fight and throw in what you know about it, then let your imagination run wild and try and fight it while thinking of what it might do, so you can counter it.”

“I think I get,” Finral said, “It's kind of like playing make-believe, like when you’re a kid?”

“Ah… make believe with my angel Marie…” Gauche remarked as his nose bled.

“You’re not too far off, Finral,” Yami pointed, “But this version is way more intense and can actually hurt whoever is doing it if they believe hard enough.”

“So, you’re saying he could break his arm if he believed in it hard enough?!” Finral exclaimed.

“Pretty much,” Yami shrugged, “But ya’d have to have a pretty strong imagination to make something up like that, but with the kid,” he blew smoke, “I wouldn’t put it past him to have a whole lot of those in his head. He’s most likely going over his last few fights in his head right now though, so he can be better prepped for next time.”

Asta's eyes suddenly shot open. “Move!” he yelled as he used air bending to push the trio out of the way as a massive fireball hit where they’d been sitting, leaving a crater of molten slag behind.

“Hey!” Yami yelled. “What’s your deal, kid?!” he then quickly drew his sword and took a fighting stance.

Asta turned to face the direction from where the fireball came from. “They came to pick up their boss,” he took a fighting stance.

“You missed, Fana,” a black-haired man with white patches in Eye of the Midnight Sun robes said as a black portal just like Valtos’s closed as he looked at Licht. “Man, Licht, they got you good, Healing Light Particle,” he said as he cast Licht’s healing spell on his leader.

“Yes, they did,” Licht remarked with a light-hearted smile on his face as he woke up.

“Those who hurt Licht must die,” a girl with yellow and red striped hair that was akin to fire in the same robes said with a fire drake sitting on her shoulder. “Flame Magic, Phoenix Robes,” she said as she cast the healing spell on Licht as well.

Asta immediately zeroed in on this girl.

“I will make you despair for what you have done to Licht!” a big hairy guy roared. “Beast Magic, Bear Claw!” he rushed in.

Asta quickly coated his arm in anti-magic and took the full force of the hairy man’s claw attack without even flinching or signs of budging.

“What?!” he said as he stood there.

“Yo, Vetto,” the black-haired man said. “Losing your touch?” he said as he touched Asta’s form, “A black grimoire, interes-” he quickly pulled his hand back and jumped back. “What was that just now?” he said as he looked at his hand, and that’s when he started to recall Fragment’s warning to them.

“WHAT’D YOU DO TO RHYA?!” Vetto roared as he used the same spell and attacked Asta again.

Asta met Vetto with the same results. “Move,” he said as he looked the beast mage right in the eye with nothing but murder in his gaze.

“What’s going on here? You should’ve been sent flying?!” Vetto said as he started to shake.

“Vetto! Get back!” Rhya called out, but it was too late, as Asta had decided to act, “He’s the one Fragment told us about!”

It was too late, as black anti-magic power had started to emanate from Asta’s body, “Get out of my way!” he yelled at Vetto with much rage in his voice as he forced the beast mage back with a small shockwave as he forced the attacker's claw spell back.

“VETTO!” Fana called out.

“What raw strength and rage,” Vetto said before he even realized that Asta had already grabbed ahold of his arms with his own blackened claws.

“I TOLD YOU!” Asta roared as he mercilessly slammed Vetto into the stone floor of the cave over and over again. “TO MOVE!” he raged as he proceeded to embed the now unconscious Vetto into the wall.

“You’re dead!” Licht raged as his magic started to go out of control.

Off to the side, the Black Bulls watched the fighting.

“What?!” Yami said out of shock, “We just beat him! How does he still have that much mana?!” His vision then turned to Asta, “Then, there‘s the kid… I had no clue he was this strong. He’s fighting on par with a guy with just as much mana as shiny but more built for close-range combat, yet he caught and even tossed him off to the side as if it was nothing. But,” he took a closer look at Asta, reading his Qi. Yami’s eyes shot open, “All I sense is anger and hate, along with the intent to kill…”

“How is he still fighting like that?” Finral said.

Gauche just stared.

Asta, in the meantime, had zeroed in on Rhya. The elf mage was using any and all of his magic tricks to keep out of reach of the rampaging beast that Asta had unleashed upon them. Rhya had touched the grimoire, and as soon as he did, he felt the book start to draw in his mana. He figured this is how the kid had bested Vetto, by absorbing his friend's magic and using it to strengthen himself, but one thing didn’t add up. What caused him to turn so violent this time, when last time, even though he was angry, he just seemed to zero in on Fragment in their fight.

“I will punish those who stand in the way of Licht’s dream,” Rana called out coldly as her salamander readied itself.

“Fana, no!” Rhya reached out to stop her, but it was too late.

“Now, Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander’s Breath!” she said as she shot a massive fireball right at Asta.

The light caught Asta’s attention, and he once more saw Fana. “SUNSET SHIMMER!” he roared as the huge fireball barreled down on him. Asta threw out his right hand, stopping the attack, with it only forcing him back several feet before he tore through the spell and turned it into anti-magic and absorbing it.

“It can’t be,” Rhya said, “FANA, MOVE!”

Fana, aka Sunset Shimmer, simply froze before grabbing her head in pain, “That name… RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHH, IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! THE PAIN! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP! WHO AM I!?!?!?! THE PAIN, IT HURTS MY HEAD!””

Asta, on the other hand, did no such thing and sped forward, only to be met with Vetto. The massive Beast mage instantly appeared in a golden flash, having been healed and teleported by none other than Licht. Vetto and Asta locked hands just before the anti-mage could reach the flame conjurer, with the beast mage barely managing to keep the berserker from his comrade.

“Rhya,” Licht teleported him and Fana next to Rhya, “Are you alright?”

“Barely,” Rhya looked at his hands. They were shaking. He then looked at Fana, curled up on the ground, holding her head in agony. “Healing Light Particles, Phoenix Robe,” he said as he cast dual healing spells on the girl, who seemed to have calmed down for the most part but was still in the fetal position, holding her head. “What did those bastards do to her?”

“I don’t know, but it seems it has something to do with him,” Licht said, causing Rhya to look towards Asta, “Is Valtos recovered yet?

“No, the healing spells are still working on him. It was like all of his mana had been sucked out of him. This is bad, Licht. The more we fight him, the stronger he's going to get,” Rhya said, “Fana seems to be what he wants, and as it stands, she‘s not gonna be able to fight anytime soon. Do you think you can wipe him out with an overload before he can absorb it?”

“In all honesty, I have no idea,” Licht said as Vetto held off Asta as best he could, “When you touched his black grimoire, did you manage to use your copy magic to find out anything from it that might help us deduce this power he’s using?”

“Well…” Rhya held up his hand, and the demon slayer appeared in it.

Licht’s eyes went wide. “This only confirms he knows a lot more than he’s letting the others know,” he glared at Asta, “I was hoping to take him back to base, but as things stand, we must eradicate him here and now, or he could be a real problem to us and our people. We’ll recover the swords after he’s dead.”

“PRINCESS CELESTIA! MARS! MAKE IT STOP!” Fana wailed in pain, getting the berserk anti-mage’s attention again.

“Rhya, take Fana and Vettos and get to Valtos,” Licht ordered as Asta threw Vettos off him again, “If we need to, I’ll provide the mana. Just be ready.”

“Right,” Rhya hesitantly nodded. “Healing Light Particles,” he said, casting the spell on Fana to at least quiet her down before teleporting away as Licht rose into the air.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I’ll be your opponent now,” Licht gave his false smile, “Please atone for hurting my friends and die now. Light Magic, Light Shaft of Divine Punishment!”

Asta, in whatever instinct he had left, called forth the demon slayer to his hand. The blade immediately coated itself in anti-magic as Asta raised the sword with both hands. The sword, now solid black, grew and grew to a gigantic proportion as it cut through the roof of the cave, before it was brought down, cutting Licht’s light magic right in twain.

All across the Clover Kingdom, Asta's family, friends, rivals, and lovers looked out their windows as they felt something in their hearts wasn’t right and that had to do with Asta. It was as if their very souls themselves could feel it, telling them that a feeling of great pain, loss, and hatred burned in his heart..

Meanwhile, in the air not far from the village….

“What is that?” asked Captin Charlette of the Blue Rose Knights.

“I have no clue,” Captin Jack The Ripper of the Green Praying Mantises added, “But it looks like it would be fun to slice! Keke!”

“Must you really make such crude remarks?” Captain Silva of the Silver Eagles remarked, “In any case, if I were a gambler like that black bull's blockhead, I would wager that’s where we need to go.”

“Then, we’re agreed,” Charlotte said.

“Then, let's stop yacking and start slicin’!” Jack laughed as the group sped on.

Back on the battlefield, Licht and his party stood there in awe. Asta was standing there in front of them, now wielding the Demon Slayer. Most of his clothing had been burned away in Licht’s blast. This allowed everyone to see the full scope of Asta's scars, along with his other marks. The black dragon wrapped around his arm, and the massive five-leaf clover branded across his chest.

“What… are… you…?” Lich stared, horrified by the monster that still stood before them all.

“Captain,” Finral said as he dared not look away.

“Don’t ask me…” Yami gulped hard, “I knew he was strong, but this is something else…”

“Asta…” Gauche said as he recalled everything he went through with Asta, from their first encounter to earlier today.

“I did forewarn you about him, didn’t I, Licht?” an evil voice chuckled as he emerged from a black portal. “Didn’t I?” Fragment said as he smiled evilly at the elf group. “My… you did rile him up…”

“Frag… meant…” Asta growled out as he looked at the evil wizard.

“Oh… so, he hasn’t completely been consumed by his hate and power yet…” Fragment chuckled as he drew his sword. “Leave the rest to me, Licht. You should go and treat your wounds,” he held his black saber-like sword in front of his masked face, showing his golden eyes and wicked fanged smile, “Come at me, Asta! Let’s just see how far you’ve come!”

“Fragment… kill…” Asta mouthed as he held up his right hand, and in it materialized his black zanpakuto. “KILL FRAGMENT!” he howled as he charged in headfirst, and the two mages started to clash, sending out shockwaves with each blow.

Fragment was easily keeping pace with Asta’s speed as they exchanged blows. The fight went on as the dark sorcerer distracted the berserk mage, allowing his cohorts to escape into his portal before closing it so no one could follow, and allowing him to draw his own second sword. This meant that both mages were fighting on equal ground now, as the fight only intensified from here.

Asta’s speed and strength only continued to gradually increase alongside his rage with each passing moment as he and Fragment continued to battle. Soon, Fragment found that his opponent was starting to outpace him and would eventually overpower him if the dark mage didn’t do something to boost his own power. The spell that he had to use had to affect him internally, as any magic or mana he projected outward would only be halted and then gradually weakened and absorbed by Asta.

There was only one thing he could do, and it would greatly decrease his mana to the point he’d have to escape at the first opportunity. If he didn’t, then he’d quite literally run the risk of death if he didn’t return. His blood blade couldn’t take much more punishment without unleashing its true power.

Fragment gritted his teeth and poured as much magic as he could spare into Abyss Blade that would allow him to pull off the next few moves. In a single swipe, he knocked the black katana from Asta’s hand, sending it hurtling across the field near the Black Bulls.

“Cursed Blood Magic,” Fragment howled as red horns sprouted from his head, red bat-like wings from his back, and a diamond shape tipped whip-like tail, “Cursed Blade Blood!” The small precise sword came to life with a whirl of its spheroid hilt, as it soon grew into a massive red claymore on par in size with Asta demon slayer.

“His powers are like Asta’s,” Finral pointed out, “Yami, do you know what kind of magic that is?”

“Maybe,” Yami remarked, ‘But to think there was someone this powerful outside of him… Just who is this Fragment guy…?”

“They're similar, yeah, but there’s a big difference,” Gauche added, “Asta naturally has two mana types, and this third power comes from somewhere else. But, he uses it naturally, as if it were a part of him. This guy only has one magic attribute,. This second may come from the same place as Asta’s third, but it seems a lot less natural and a lot more forced.”

Back on the battlefield, Asta and Fragment had kept up their fight, but Fragment’s time was quickly running out. He then sensed three incoming magic powers that were just about to make a dramatic entrance.

“As much fun as this is, I have other things that must be attended to,” Fragment forced Asta back. “After all, you did a number on my puppet's mind and forced me to use a lot of my power. I doubt we’ll be seeing much of each other, boy,” he raised his sword up, “Cursed Blood Magic, Blood Slicing!”

Fragment slashed the air and sent a wave of blood slashes hurtling at Asta.

“Abyss Magic, Abyssal Gate,” Fragment wheezed as he jumped into the portal, and it closed instantly.

“What kind of a pickle have you made this time, Yami?” Captai Jack cackled.

“Yes,” Nozel added, “What’s going on here?”

“Just like a man to make such a mess,” Charlotte commented.

“No, don’t come down here!” Finral yelled out.

Just as they all touched down, Asta finished cutting through Fragment’s last attack. It was already too late, as the crazed anti-mage immediately noticed the three large clusters of mana closest to him.

“RAAAAAAAAAA!” Asta roared as more antimagic power poured off his body, and the captains all felt a small portion of their mana leave them.

“Yami, what the hell is going on here?!” Nozel said as he looked forward while throwing up a hand to block the incoming dust, “Isn’t that…?”

“That’s the boy called Asta, isn’t it?” Charlotte said, ‘Twlight, I might have to do something that will make you hate me…’

“Wait, isn’t that the kid that we all wanted back at the start of the year with tryouts, but ended up as one of yours, and now, we have to take him down?” Jack looked at Yami, “I thought this was for kidnappers?”

Asta suddenly rushed all three of them. The berserk mage swung his sword down hard, and just before it hit, the captains separated. Yami had grabbed Finral and Gauche, to keep them out of reach of the shockwave radius. He watched Asta closely and noticed he wasn’t reacting to them at all, but his focus was on the others as they had all gone in separate directions, confusing him.

“You guys see that?” he pointed as he dropped Finral on his ass.

“Ow… Yeah, so what? He nearly killed us!” Finral said, “What else is new?”

“No, you idiot,” Gauche said, “He means Asta is just standing there.” As soon as Captain Jack touched down Asta took notice and shot forward out of the dust cloud. “He’s only reacting to sound and locking in on mana.”

“That would explain why he hadn’t attacked us just yet,” Yami scratched the side of his head, “Seeing as how we’re pretty much tapped out.” Yami’s katana began to thrash around violently, getting his attention. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” he said as he drew the sword, and it pulled him off to the left. “Oh… Asta’s katana…” he drew his subordinate’s weapon from the ground, and he immediately could tell. “You’re like mine… I wonder…” he looked at the battlefield.

“I heard from Yami you can hold your own against him. You may be berserk, but even in this state, I know you can put up a good fight,” Jack laughed, “I’ll try not to kill you too much. Severing Magic, Death Scythe,” green scythe blades sprang from his arms, “Dance of Slashes!”

Asta and Jack hit with a loud clang of their blades and started to trade blows in a flurry of slashes and bling sparks.

‘Yami wasn’t fooling around. This kid is something else,’ Jack thought before he knocked Asta’s sword from his hand then backed away from him with a kick. “I did my part,” he panted, “But don’t let up! This kid is definitely on a level all his own.”

“Good to know even a maniac can follow subtle cues,” Nozel said as he landed on Asta’s right and Charlette on the left. “Mercury Magic,” he waived his hand. “ Royal Shackle,” he said as he covered Asta lower right arm in an ornate binding gauntlet.

Asta reeled his left hand back and was about to punch his arm free but found it stuck.

“I do this for Twilight,” Charlotte said. “Briar Magic, Thorn Bind Hostage,” she said as she revealed rose vines that came from her sword hilt that had wrapped themselves around Asta’s left arm.

The captains pulled tight, physically restraining the berserk Asta as best they could. Asta, in the meantime, struggled as he thrashed hard, trying to free his arms.

Nozel winced as he was pulled along with Charlotte, “How can someone be this strong without magic?”

“Hurry up!” Charlotte called out.

“Sorry, kid,” Jack said as he revealed massive scythes on his arms that had been building power. He rushed forward. “Severing Magic, Cross Grave!” he laughed as he rushed in.

Jack jumped up and slashed down.

“RAAAAAAAAAAA!” Asta roared as anti-magic poured off his body, allowing him to immediately rip free of the bindings. He then caught Jack’s scythes with his bare hands, while he proceeded to headbutt the knight captain in the head, breaking the scythes from his arms while also causing him to rocket backward, becoming embedded in the stone wall.

“RAAAAAAAAAA!” Asta howled as the scythes in his hands broke and crumbled away with blood dripping down his arms.

“How can this boy be so strong with no magic?” Nozel commented as he looked on in horror while Asta held up his hands, “He’s been fighting nearly non-stop, and yet, he’s still able to keep up with the Magic Knight Captains…”

“Ya alright there, beanpole?” Yami said as he pulled Jack from the wall.

“Yeah…” Jack cackled slightly, “Yami… that kid… I saw it written all over his face. He’s angry and wants to kill whatever is causing him to act this way!”

“Watch out!” Yami pushed Jack out of the way as Asta barreled towards them, only to embed himself in the wall where Jack had been.

Yami and Jack joined up with Nozel and Charlotte.

“Geez, he’s pissed,” Yami scratched the back of his head, “I can’t even really read his Qi through all that aggression he’s putting out.”

“We have to stop this rampage,” Charlotte said as she lifted her sword hilt, “Magic knight or not, he’s a serious threat to the kingdom, and if this keeps up, he’ll hurt thousands.”

“Hold your horses there, prickly queen,” Yami held up his hand.

“P-PRICKLY QUEEN!” Charlotte called out with a blush creeping over her face, ‘He gave me a nickname!’

“She’s right,” Nozel said, “Even if he’s one of us, he’s still a serious threat to the kingdom as a whole right now, if we leave him alone. We need to put him down.”

“Hey, I told you to wait!” Yami voiced his opposition quite loudly, “He’s one of mine first off, so if anyone is going to kill him, it's gonna be me. Secondly, Asta’s a good kid who wouldn’t normally hurt someone without a good reason, so if he’s acting out this way, then that means he’s really hurt by whatever happened.”

“Any ideas on how to get him to stop?” Nozel said as rocks started to fall.

“Well…” Yami scratched the back of his head again as he held up Asta’s katana, “His sword channeled that power of his, and this one pretty much has a good handle on it. I read the Qi on it, and if we can stab the kid with it, then the sword should be able to get his power under control enough to get him back to talking.”

“Stab him with his own weapon is really all you have?” Jack cackled, “Hell, I like this plan. No, I love this plan! So, what’s the plan?”

“You two think you can restrain him again?” Yami looked at Nozel and Charlotte.

Charlotte and Nozel looked at each other. “We can, but if we do, it’ll be the last of our magic,” Nozel explained, “Fighting him with magic of any kind only seems to drain us and while also adding to his own power. Its really not smart to keep fighting him like that, but as you and the mantis are the only one who can fight close range, that leaves us little choice.”

“If we pour every last ounce of our magic power into a compound spell, we should be able to hold him for about five minutes before he manages to break free,” Charlotte said, ‘Twilight, for your sake, I sure hope this plan of Yami’s works…’

“Don’t even think you’re leaving me out of this,” Jack cackled.

“Nope,” Yami said, “I need a loan of some magic if this is gonna work though.”

“What’s my role first?” Jack shied away.

“To get his attention,” Yami explained, “The kid’s body is well trained, and I mean well trained to the point it hardens like steel if his skin even feels the presence of a blade. But I’m guessing there’s only so much it can take. With your slicing magic, you need to hit him hard and fast.” He punched his palm, “But it needs to be mostly in the same spot to even stand a chance…”

Suddenly, the demon slayer and demon dweller swords spun like buzzsaws through the air and into the wall where Asta’s head had been.

“Sunset Shimmer…” Asta’s voice droned, with a twisted hint of malice on his tongue. “I’m going to kill you for what you did to her… You took her from me… I will kill you…”

Asta stepped out of the dust cloud. His eyes were red on a green background with purple wisps of mist coming from either side. His hair was standing on end, resembling jagged horns, with each being red tipped.

“That form… it’s not right…” Yami said, “It’s outright evil… Gonna need that loan, string bean!”

“I fully intend to collect,” Jack cackled as he and Yami did a high five, and Jack transferred a small amount of his mana to the dark mage. “My turn!” he laughed as he rushed in.

Jack activated his severing magic, drawing out the scythes on his arms. He jumped up and then barreled don on Asta.

Asta, still not seeing due to his rage, but thinking much more clearly now, countered by by using his Demon Slayer as a shield by binding it to the back of his left arm with his anti-magic.

“I will kill you, Sunset Shimer,” Asta reeled his dweller back and thrust it forward.

Jack narrowly dodged as he jumped back. “He’s not acting on instinct anymore,” he whispered. “This could be a lot more fun than I thought!” he laughed as his tongue fell out of his mouth.

“No matter how many clones you have, I will kill them all!” Asta remarked without any sign of hesitation.

The two charged at each other and became locked in a duel of blades, with Asta holding the edge due to the slayer being used as a sword and shield at the same time.

“This is bad,” Yami said, “It looks like he’s starting to think more clearly…”

“Yami, anytime!” Nozel called out.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yami snarked, “Time to push past my limits,” he smirked and swallowed hard. “This better work, you stupid sword…” he concentrated as he took his stance. “Sorry, kid, but I’m gonna borrow one of your spells. Dark Magic,” he opened his eyes, and his mana spiked, “Dark Reinforcement!”

Yami rushed in and started to unload a massive barrage of attacks on Asta. Asta parried one of Jack’s attacks and then reeled his left arm back and then punched forward. The demon slayer then shot out like a shotgun, almost nailing the Captain of the Praying Mantis in the gut, a move that would surely have killed him.

“Yo, bean pole,” Yami called out, “Stop his swords, so prickly and hairdo can bind him!”

“I shall kill you all,” Asta repeated without remorse.

“Yeah, we know!” Yami countered as he was getting tired of this bullshit.

Asta reeled his left arm back again, but this time, Jack put a good bit of distance between him and the shotgun thrust, while Yami prepared for his last attack.

“Compound Magic, Silver Rose Garden!” Charlotte and Nozel said as a garden of metallic green rose vines sprang from the ground and snared Asta, as the buds bloomed to reveal silver roses.

“Dark Magic, Black Thrust!” Yami shot forward and embedded the black katana in its master’s chest.

“I… will…. Kill…” Asta gritted his teeth as he struggled.

’Asta!’ came a familiar voice in the anti-mage’s head, ’Don’t fight back! You’re drowning in your own anger and power! She’s gone! You need to clear your mind! You’re fighting the captains, not Sunset! Remember, Twilight is safe!’

“Liebe…” Asta grunted as the anti-magic drained. Gradually, the evil dark magic that had been warping his mind dissipated. “Hey there, captain…” he smirked at Yami. “Sorry for the trouble...” he passed out from the strain he’d been under.

“Where’d that sword go?” Jack asked as Yami hoisted Asta over his shoulder.

“Back to where it belongs,” Yami said bluntly. “I’ll repair that one later… Ah… later,” he waved and started to walk away.

“Hold it right there, foreigner,” Nozel commanded. “I want to know exactly what's going on here and why were we not informed of such a powerful knight on your squad. It took all of us acting as a whole unit just to take him down. Four captains to take on one lone magic knight who has been fighting none stop is not something we can just overlook this time!”

“As much as I loathe to agree with a man, I must side with him on this, Yami,” Charlotte added, “He’s the one who came with the newbie on my Squad and the Golden Dawn’s new recruit. If I recall, they all grew up together, so I’m guessing the others must be on his level as well.”

“Hey, I knew he was strong, but this was beyond me,” Yami threw up a hand, “The kid doesn’t share a lot about his abilities outside fighting, so I had no clue he was this strong either, but something tells me it had more to do with his anger than his power.”

The three captains looked at each other.

“No one was seriously hurt in this fiasco were they?” came a new voice. Everyone turned to see the wizard king. “I think we can overlook this, as long as it doesn’t happen again, Yami.”

“No guarantees,” Yami nonchalantly held up a hand.

“P-put me down, captain,” Asta grunted.

“You sure, kid?” Yami looked at him and saw the determination in his eyes. “Okay,” he sighed and did as his knight requested.

“Your majesty,” Asta looked right at the wizard king, “This… unfortunate accident has to do with someone from mine and my finance’s past, someone who I had no idea was in the upper circle of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. I knew I would come across this person eventually, just not here and under the circumstances of tonight.”

“You said you were going to kill her,” Charlotte added, “From what my own subordinate has told me about you, that’s not a phrase you throw around, yet you were saying it to us without caution. This girl or woman must have done something to warrant your full wrath. May I ask what it was?”

“Twilight trusts you, so I will tell you,” Asta said with a great deal of strain as his black grimoire floated up, and he pulled a cane from it, while his swords and gauntlet returned to the book.

Using his new cane to steady himself, Asta told the five, technically seven with Finral and Gauche coming in to join them, his reasoning.

“The girl in the group that opposes the kingdom is in the same age group as me. At most, I can put her a couple of years older than me,” Asta said with a great deal of disdain, “She seems to be greatly devoted to their leader. It wouldn’t surprise me if it has something to do with a spell of some kind. Our enemies call her Fana, but Twilight and I know her better as Sunset Shimmer. She also shares our homeland.”

“The same place across the sea that Yami hails from,” Julius pointed out.

Asta shook his head slightly, “No. We do hail from across the sea but not necessarily the same country as Captain Yami. The same continent mayhaps, but not country. Definitely not.”

“Can you tell us anything else?” Julius asked, “That you can recall before you completely succumbed to your rage?”

“Sunset, or Fana as she is better known, is a fire magic user and also has the flame spirit Salamander with her,” Asta said, “Then, there is Rhya, who seems to have Copy Magic like my Twilight, Vetto who is a beast magic user, and finally, the leader.” That got everyone’s attention.

“You actually fought the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun?” they all said except for Yami.

“No, I just blocked his attacks,” Asta chuckled lightly before wincing from the strain. “Anyway, his name is Licht. He uses light magic and has a four-leaf grimoire with an entirely golden cover.”

“Hmmmmm…” Julius thought. “Anything else?”

“The girl seemed to be seriously unhinged,” Yami added. “As soon as the kid called out the name, she started flipping out and calling for help.”

“Well,” Julius looked at them all, “I think you've given us quite a lot of intel, and it was well worth the price to pay Asta. But, be sure and keep your mind in check next time, as I am sure you’ll see this Fana or Sunset again, if you have a history as deep as you do.”

Asta gave him a salute, “Finral, open a portal to town. I have a girl I need to go see!” he called out.

“Hey, I’m not a taxi service, ya know!”

“Shut up and do it already!”

“I’m the one who's supposed to give the orders here! I’m your superior!”

“Hurry up! My Marie needs me!”

“CAPTAIN!”

“Just do it already! Sheesh,” Yami yelled, tired of hearing them all complain and bicker.

Noelle sat at the table of Rebecca’s house, with Rebcca not that far away.

“Still worried?” Rebecca asked as she set a cup of hot chocolate down for her guest. “You felt it too, right?”

“Is it that obvious?” Noelle asked while Rebecca just gave her a knowing look. Noelle sighed, “Yeah, I’m still worried…” She looked at her reflection. “I’ve felt like this one other time, and it wasn’t long after we became knights and went on our first mission together with one of our seniors,” Noelle explained, “It was the first time I truly saw him when he was angry. In that fight, Asta got so upset, and his focus was on our opponent… The shadow I saw behind him and the look in his eyes… It was so… It just wasn’t right…”

“I see,” Rebeecca sipped her coco, “I’m glad you’re there in the field with him. Noelle. All I can can do is wait here for him to come by.”

“Thanks, but you being here gives him a reason to stop working and enjoy something other than constantly training,” Noelle looked at Rebecca.

“PORTAL!” Marco called out from his spot at the window before he and his brothers and sister all rushed out to greet the returning knight.

“Let’s go,” Noelle stood up.

“Yeah,” Rebecca nodded and walked out.

“Marie…!” Gauche said as she rushed over and passed him over to Asta, causing him to turn to stone, again.

Asta sighed, “Please comfort your big brother. He worked really hard to protect you guys, and don’t say you’ll marry me anymore, please…”

“But why?!!” Marie pouted.

“Cause I have girls I love already, and you’re too little,” Asta patted her head and moved on.

“Stupid Asta!” Noelle said as she tripped, “You look terrible.”

“And you look like I put you through hell,” Asta chuckled.

Noelle glared at him, “Walk back to the house yourself, jerk!” She let him go, and he was tackled by the kids. She then smiled at the sight.

Marco looked at his older brother. “Asta…” he started to cry, “I did it. I was brave!”

Asta rubbed his head. “You did a good job, little brother,” he gave a wide grin.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of the snow,” Rebecca said as she held out a hand.

“Thanks,” Asta took her hand and got to his feet. “I need a na-” he said as he rubbed the back of his head but was interrupted by a kiss from Rebecca.

Noelle stood there, utterly shell-shocked. “R-R-Rebecca!” she stammered, “That’s not fair!”

“I think it is,” Rebecca smirked, “It’s my thanks for saving Marco and here’s my thanks for coming home.” She kissed him again, causing all the kids to go red faced with the same thought going through their heads: Finally.

“Eeeeeeeeeehhhh,” Asta creaked out as his face was glowing red, with steam coming from his hair.

Noelle sighed. “Fine. I’ll let it slide this time, but let’s get him inside. He looks like he’s about to collapse,” and just as she said that, Asta did, “Well, there he goes…”

“We’ll help,” the kids said in unison and hurriedly dragged their older brother into the house.

The girls then looked at each other and laughed before walking in and closing the door.

“Wait!” Rebecca called out, “Don’t put him in my room! That’s where Noelle and I are sleeping!”

“Come on, my Darling Marie. Let’s get you out of the cold,” Gauche said as he picked his little sister up, “We need to let the old bag know you’re spending the night with me.”

“Okay,” Marie laughed.

Everyone went their separate ways, leaving Finral standing in the snow by his lonesome.

“Hey,” he said, “Girls… Ladies… Where’s my job well done kiss? Or at least a thank you? HELLLLOOOO?! ANYONE?!!!!!!!!!”

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