New Chapter for the new Year. Sorry for the wait took me a bit to work out the details and get the drive to write this all out. Again, relationships aren't my forte so bare with me guys.

One week later…

“Alright, ya freakin’ idiots,” Yami droned as he fastened his katana to his side, “We’re heading out.”

“Alright, sir! Have a good time!” Finral waved next to the other Black Bulls who were present.

“Quit tryin’ to weasel out of your job,” Yami ordered with a scowl.

“Why me…?” Finral whined as Yami pulled the spacial mage over.

“Try not to destroy too much while we’re gone,” Yami ordered, “Or I’ll freakin’ kill ya!”

“Yes, Captain Yami, sir!” Magna saluted.

“Hey, weren’t you supposed to bring Asta?” Finral added.

“I think I’ll go see Helena today then,” Luck laughed as he walked past, causing a vein to pop out of the back of Finral’s head while Yami just watched, shocked that Luck was talking about something other than fighting.

“Oh, yeah…” Yami scratched the side of his head. “Where is the kid anyways? Hey, Finral, go out and find him, would ya? I want to get this over as soon as possible, so I can get back to bed or the toilet… whichever comes first.”

“HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHERE THAT WOMANIZER IS?” Finral roared.

“You’re the womanizer, dude,” Asta walked into the house with a towel around his neck. “Sorry. Had training.”

“Do you ever not train?” Magna asked.

“Sometimes,” Asta put on his shirt and then looked over his shoulder to the balcony hallway. He let out a light sigh, then turned back to Yami and Finral, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Hey, that’s a sweet saying there, kid,” Yami pointed as the trio departed through one of Finral’s portals, “Mind if I use it from time to time?”

“I don’t own it, so go ahead,” Asta said nonchalantly.

His usual chipper attitude had been on the back burner since his and Noelle’s return from the vacation. In fact, the two had rarely spoken with each other at all. They hadn’t even been doing chores, let alone training at the same time, as they usually had been.

Noelle had actually watched from the hallway, where Asta looked too, but wanted to stay hidden from view. She wanted to see him off, but at the same time, she didn’t really want to be around him right now either. Ever since he and Twilight had told her, Mimosa, and Rebecca the truth about their situation, she had been feeling understandably hurt, extremely betrayed, and very angry with him.

Angry that the boy she fell in love with wasn’t actually supposed to be in this world in the first place and hurt that he hid this from her and, finally, betrayed that he hid this but also led her into this relationship that he knew would break her heart. Not only her but also her cousin, who’d she’d come to view as a sister now, too.

Tears fell down her face as she thought about this. She was doing everything she could to avoid him, and it looked like he was doing the same. So, she simply went about her days, seething in her emotions at this point.

Noelle grumped and then waved her hand before walking on. She went to her room in the women’s wing of the hideout and simply did as she had been doing for the past few days since her return.

Sometime later…

She lay on her bed, and waited and brooded until a knock was heard at her door.

Noelle quickly shot up and glared at the door. “WHAT?!” she shouted.

With a click of the latch, the door opened to reveal Vanessa. “Hey, hon,” the string witch looked at the younger girl with a good bit of worry in her eyes, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Why would I?!” she shot back at her senior then flopped back onto her bed and faced the wall.

Vanessa fully opened the door. “Look, Noelle,” she said, coming in, “I don’t know what happened between you and Asta, and frankly, I wouldn’t normally stick my nose in someone else’s relationship business, but you’ve been held up in here for days. You two don’t even bother to see each other right now,” Rebecca pointed out, “Hell, he’s practically doing all he can to give you as much space as he can. What happened? You find out he was cheating on all of you after all?”

“What?” Noelle sat up immediately.

“You heard me, hon,” Vanessa placed her hands on her hips.

Noelle glared and then sighed, relenting to the question. “No… it wasn’t that…” she got to her feet, “Not even close to that at all… He… told all of …. He just… Let's just say he unloaded A LOT of very personal information about him, Twilight, and about where they come from, okay?”

“Hmmm….” Vanessa held her chin, “Normally, I’d take you to my favorite bar and have you tell me about what happened over drinks, but I get the feeling… I get the feeling this isn’t really something I can do in this situation.”

“Sorry, Vanessa,” Noelle looked at her fellow knight, “I really do want to talk to someone about this stuff, but I… I don’t know, or I don’t want…. God, I can’t make sense of why I…”

Vanessa came over and sat down on the bed and pulled Noelle into a warm embrace, resting the teen's head between her two best features. “It's because you’re still trying to work through this yourself,” she giggled as she stroked Noelle’s head, “And because this has caused you to question how you really feel about the boy you love at this point in time. Just take your time and work through this at your own pace.”

“But… what if I can’t? And we…?” Noelle questioned as tears started to build in her eyes.

“Asta doesn’t have much time left before he and Twilight are leaving is what I’m guessing at,” Vanessa said, only for Noelle to give a single nod, “Well, that’s obviously the main reason he told you what he did, so you could decide for yourself what you want to do moving forward with him. He didn’t want to just disappear and not have you know why. He loves you, hon. That much is clear, but he doesn’t want you to be shackled by those feelings either.”

“So… he told us because he wants to be with us?” Noelle guessed.

“Partially, but also because he wants you all to be free to make your own choices when the time comes for him to leave this land behind,” Vanessa said, “We can figure it out some more later, okay? For now, let's head to town. It's the main reason I came up here, actually.”

“What?” Noelle looked at the older woman a bit perplexed. “Why do we need to go to town?’

“Why, to get swimsuits for the beach, of course!” Vanessa clapped her hands with a giggle, “We’re going to get you something so stunning that Asta will have no choice but to look at you and want to be with you the whole time!”

“The beach?!” Noelle said with a red face as Vanessa grabbed hold of her arm.

“Come on, hon,” Vanessa said, literally dragging her fellow knight out of the room, “We're burning daylight, and we still have several shops to hit and several sets of swimwear to try on!”

“B-b--b--b-b-but I-I-I-I--I-I…” Noelle sputtered with a glowing red face as she was dragged along against her will.

The Magic Knight Headquarters…

Yami and company arrived in the capital right after Finral opened the portal.

“Alright. You’re here,” Finral grumbled, “I’m going into town.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yami waved off the comment. “Ya better stay close by and come when I call for ya when it's time to go back, or I’ll find ya and kill ya!” Yami scowled.

“Got it...” Finral whimpered in fear.

“Let’s go, kid,” Yami ordered as he did a one-eighty and headed into the building, with Asta following behind a bit.

Yami had taken note of Asta’s recent shift in behavior as of late, and frankly, wasn’t fond of the mopey attitude he’d been giving off.

“Alright,” Yami stopped and looked at Asta, “What the hell has got you in a funk? I noticed you and Noelle aren’t all… whatever the hell it was that you two were.”

“Hraaaaaaa…” Asta looked off to the side, “So…. Twilight and I told her and the others an extremely heavy and very personal secret over the break. It hit them all pretty hard, as I thought it would, and I’m trying to give her space to think about her decision, as it’s her choice that affects if we stay… ya know,” he shrugged.

“Aha….” Yami said. “Look, kid… Admittedly, I’m way more of a gambler than a lover, in any sense of the word. I can’t really give relationship advice, especially when you’re dating four chicks at the same time. So, I’ll tell ya from a gambler’s standpoint. Ya laid all your cards out on the table, so ya you should call her out and face her sometime in the coming days, as the longer you wait to do so, the higher the chances are that you’ll lose any hope to try and stay with her, or at least try and fix whatever bond ya have left between ya.”

“Yeah,” Asta sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, “Thanks, captain.”

“Let’s go,” Yami turned back around, “Julius may run late, but I still want to be there before he is…”

“Right,” Asta nodded as he took off behind Yami again.

The Meeting Hall…

Asta and Yami entered the room, and much to their shock, they were the only ones there.

Yami just rubbed the back of his head. “Well… this is a first,” he said as he walked over to his place at the table and took a seat, “Never been first to one of these things before…”

“Wow…” Asta rolled his eyes, “And that’s a shocker because why?”

“I’m saying it's odd because I’ve never been early for anything!” Yami groaned.

“Well, now you can hold it over the others’ heads that you were here first, and they were late this time around,” Asta went over to the wall behind Yami and sat down cross-legged. “So, any idea why the wizard king called for me to tag along?” he asked as he crossed his arms, already knowing the real reason in the back of his mind.

Yami had started to pull out a sword cleaning kit from his satchel and place it on the table in front of himself.

He picked up what looked like a dandelion on a very thin stick. “Not cool, kid,” Yami groaned as he pulled his katana from its sheath and started to clean the sword’s blade, “But… I can only guess it has something to do with that special power of yours.”

Asta gave a quick mock shrug then shut his eyes.

“Hmmm….” Yami looked at the kid from the corner of his eye then went back to cleaning his sword.

About another hour passed before the doors opened to reveal a pack of eight arguing Magic Knight Captains. They all stopped and froze as soon as they entered the room. They were all caught off guard by the sight of Yami being there before any of them.

“Took you long enough,” Yami said with a shit-eating grin, “OH, YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOK ON ALL YOUR FACES RIGHT NOW! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“How are you, of all people, here before us?” Nozel Silva stepped forward, more than a bit annoyed at Yami at this point.

“Man, kid, you were right!” Yami laughed as he looked over at Asta, who’d barely cracked an eye, “Worth it just to see their faces!”

The group then turned and saw who he was talking to. Nozelle, Jack, and Charlotte’s faces all turned stern fast. Fuegoleon looked at them and simply shook his head before walking over to the youth.

Asta jumped to his feet and met the eyes of the Crimson Lion Captain. “Captain Fuegoleon,” he said sternly.

“Asta,” Fuegoleon raised a hand, and Asta did the same, taking hold of his rival’s grip, “It’s good to see you. I heard a lot of rumors about you as of late. Care to enlighten me as to which are false and those which aren’t?”

“It’s good to see you back on your feet,” Asta let go, “And I will try, but after this meeting is over and if we have the time.”

“Very well,” Fuegoleon chuckled as he took his seat. “Yami,” and then saw his sword, “Nice blade.”

“Sup,” Yami said without looking up from his weapon, “Thanks. The kid made it.”

Fuegoleon looked at the weapon and then back at Asta and then shrugged while the others took their seats.

“Can someone please tell me what the…” Charlotte said as she looked over at Asta, who had simply sat back down on the chair. “Boy is doing here? It's bad enough that I have to sit in a room filled with men and a boy already, but then you add a second boy, “ she said while internally, ‘Oh my gosh, I just had to take the seat in front Yami!!! He just looked so good flexing while polishing that new sword of his! GAH! YOU BETTER NOT LOOK AT ME!!!!’

Yami looked up and right at Charlotte. “What? I got somethin’ on my face?” he said as he held up the blade and checked his reflection.

The Blue Rose captain in the meantime simply froze, as her face went bright pink and steam wafted off her helmet.

Many of the people in the room, Asta included, simply looked and thought, ‘Can you be more oblivious?’ They then turned and looked at Yami who’d gone back to cleaning his sword, ‘Not unless he took a hammer to the head, apparently…’

Asta let out a quick huff through his nose and went back to his, whatever he was doing in his head.

“The atmosphere is…” Rill, the captain of the Aqua Deer and the youngest of the captains, spoke up, “...tense… Oh, I know! How about this?!” he chuckled as he literally worked his magic on his face.

Asta cracked an eye and carefully watched the captain, waiting for something. Rill then started to imitate the other various captains around the table. Yami was the one who seemed to get the most enjoyment out of the gag, even Fuegoleon chuckled slightly. Yami kept belting out until Rill took on his appearance, and now, the others were laughing at him.

“That’s not funny,” Yami threatened the much younger mage with his katana and deadly intent.

“I found it rather spot on, captain,” Asta spoke up as he stepped in front of Rill, drawing everyone's attention, and the tension resumed as three of the nine captains stared wearily at the youth.

Rill had done just about everyone he could, except Nozel. That’s when he sensed it and took his chance to start and try to take on Nozel’s face, with little to no luck.

“If you dare to wear my face, I will end you!” Nozel spoke up, more than moderately annoyed at this point.

“Awwwwwww….” Rill cried out. “It’s no use,” he whined, “I tried, I really did, but I can’t get that part of your hair to be however it is you have it!”

“It’s called a braid,” Asta deadpanned, “It's not hard at all to do, actually. It should be pretty easy to do, seeing as it’s done in the front.”

That comment made Nozel’s eyes go wide with worry as he broke out in a cold sweat.

“Oh, really?” Rill jumped up and grabbed hold of Asta’s hands, “Hi! My name’s Rill, I'm nineteen, and the captain of the Aqua Deer!” He then looked at Asta and leaned in, “You know, you look familiar… Have we met somewhere before?!”

That’s when everyone fell out of their chairs at that one point.

“You saw me at the Magic Knight Exams,” Asta deadpanned, “Outside that encounter, I’ve never actually met you. The name’s Asta Ferris. I’m fourteen or fifteen, and a part of the Black Bulls Squad. You’ve already met my captain,” Asta thumbed over his shoulder to the sword wielder who was now grinding his teeth.

Rill’s eyes suddenly got really big and really sparkly, “Can we be friends?”

“Ah….. sure…. I guess…” Asta reluctantly said.

“Yes!” Rill started to dance around, “I made a friend, I made a friend, I made a friend!”

Suddenly, the vice-captain of the Coral Peacocks and Mimosa’s older brother, Kirsch Vermillion, spoke out at the display.

“I cannot stand by and watch this disgusting display any longer!” Kirsch dramatically held his forehand to his forehead. “A vulgar common of low birth being allowed to enter this room is bad enough, but now, he has the audacity to claim to be friends with a nobleman who’s a Magic Knight Captain! ABSOLUTELY ABHORRENT!”

Asta turned and glared at the stuck-up asshole. “Who do you think you are to deny me?” he growled in a low ominous tone.

Yami placed a hand on Asta’s shoulder, and as he was doing so, the wizard king and Marx walked into the room.

“I was the one who invited our youngest member here,” Julius spoke up, causing the drama queen to shut his mouth. “He is a key factor in today’s events. So, let's get down to it. Marx,” he turned to his right-hand man.

Marx nodded and then started handing out papers, “This is all of the information we’ve been able to obtain from the mages we’ve apprehended from the Midnight Sun’s invasion of the capital and from the recent skirmish with the kidnapped children.”

“I must say, I thought you’d have more than this,” William looked up, “especially since you are the most skilled mage with mental magic.”

“I’d like to add in the details of the attack on the capital,” Asta added. “The enemy’s plan of attack was far too meticulous and thorough, especially with the locations that were hit the hardest not only being places where people gather for fun and merriment but local government buildings. That, coupled with the heavy mental warding on the prisoners, constitutes to one thing…”

“Have to say the kid’s way sharper than he looks,” Jack cackled, “And I agree with him. It all points to one thing.”

“Yes,” Nozel nodded along with most of the others at the table, “As much as I hate to agree with that vagabond and his… subordinate there. It seems we’re all in agreement.”

“It's nice to see that we’re all on the same page,” Julius smiled and then turned stern, “We have a traitor amongst us, and at least one that goes up pretty high in our ranks at that. Which is why I asked only those of us here to come today, to keep this investigation small.”

The fat captain in a purple mask and rode started to sweat slightly. He was Gueldre Poizot, captain of the Purple Orcas, a squad with a less-than-squeaky-clean record but one that was still able to get their jobs done all the same.

“If we’re going to start pointing fingers, then lets at least start with the most viable candidate,” Nozel suggested as he looked right at Asta, “The one with some form of clear tie to the terrorist known as the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the one who first brought up the idea and most of all the one who was able to fight on par with the terrorist uppermost circle on equal footing and who seems to have a direct link to one of the three top officers. Just who are you, and what is your connection to them?!”

Nozel was right about everything he said, but his anger was more than just that of a Magic Knight Captain but also as one as an older brother.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kirsch flamboyantly said with flower petals around him, “This mongrel? I’m sorry to say this to the esteemed captain of the Silver Eagles and my family, but even for you, dear cousin, that is a bit out there. This mutt couldn’t possibly be that powerful.”

“I’m afraid it's all true,” Charlotte added, “I was there, as I distinctly remember having to fight alongside three men that night.”

“The kid is no doubt a powerhouse,” Jack added, “But I’m afraid I have to take his side. What we fought that night was more than just a Magic Knight. It was an out-of-control monster, with the sole purpose of killing its target.”

“Bean pole is right,” Yami took his knight’s side while placing a hand on Asta’s shoulder and got to his feet. “What I sensed coming from the kid was nothing short of outright hate. He wanted to gut everything in front of him. He was so blinded by his own hate and rage.”

Asta only looked down in shame at this thought.

“While I can usually differ with you on the truth usually Yami,” Julius finally spoke up, “Nozel was there, and he saw everything and actually fought Asta longer and got more words out of him. He personally knows one of the three that was there that night.”

“While I know this will hurt one of my knights deeply, and as much as this unnerves me to do so, I have to side with Nozel on the matter that Asta is quite possibly a traitor,” Charlotte cut in and looked at Asta. “I quite clearly heard you speaking complete sentences. ‘I will kill you, Sunset Shimmer!,’ is what you said. You kept repeating how you were going to kill this Sunset Shimmer. I think you were blinded by your rage yes and were projecting this person’s image onto us. But the question remains, who is this Sunset Shimmer and what is her connection to you?”

“More importantly,” Gueldre said, seizing the opportunity to attack Asta and deflect any suspicions off himself that may be floating around in everyone’s heads currently in the room. “What is the connection between her and the terrorists and the fact that you seem to know her on such a personal level?”

Asta looked at all of them and then at the Wizard King.

“I don’t doubt you have your reasons for keeping this to yourself, but if you could tell us to at least try and clear your name, Asta,” Julius encouraged the boy.

Asta sighed then looked forward, “She’s from mine and Twilight’s homeland.”

This information caught everyone off guard.

“A land far far away with similar customs to the homeland of captain Yami,” Asta motioned to his captain, who’d sat back down and was reading his Qi the whole time. “From what I know of her past, she had the same teacher as Twilight for a time, until she just ran away somewhere.”

“She ran away?” Nozel narrowed his vision.

“I don’t know her on any form of personal level outside of trying to fight and/or kill her,” Asta crossed his arms as he glared. “I’ve only actually met her twice, the same goes for Twi,” he elaborated, “She tried to steal Twilight’s crown the first time I ever met her.”

“Crown?” many of the captains asked.

“You mean the one with the purple six-pointed star-cut amethyst?” Charlotte asked and Asta nodded “But why? Does it hold some sort of significance in your homeland?”

“It does actually,” Asta explained, “It’s one in a set of six magic stones, but as to why she wanted it, I have no clue. It won’t work unless the other five are present, and even then, the gem has to accept its wielder. I can only suspect Sunset found a way to access the gem’s power through forbidden means while she was missing.”

“I now get some of the animosity you showed, but what exactly made you want to kill her?” Nozel asked, “And why is she working with the Eye of the Midnight Sun?”

“The first part is because, in our effort of pursuing her, after she managed to steal Twi’s crown, we all fought over it, which led us all to fall over a cliff into the sea,” Asta growled while clenching his fists extremely tightly. “She caused Twilight to let go of the crown and become lost, but I thought worse at the time though,” he said, hiding his eyes and rage, “So, if she killed Twilight because of her selfishness, then I was going to kill her, cause I lost someone I loved. In the ensuing fight over the crown, she was forced off and lost in the currents, while I ended up with the crown.”

Julius looked at Yami, knowing he was more than reliable as a lie detector. Yami only nodded, confirming it was all the truth.

“I woke up these unknown shores, after which I walked and tried to survive until I came across Hage Village,” he continued his story.

“So, she ended up elsewhere and was found by the terrorists at some other unknown point in time,” Julius stroked his chin, “Is there anything else you can tell us that you can recall from your fight with the inner circle of the Eye of the Midnight Sun?”

“Only that the next time I see them, I won’t hold back,” Asta said with a deathly chill about himself.
Julius looked at him, wanting to tell him to not go too far but backed down, as he saw the look in Asta’s eyes. He knew that there was no way to stop Asta from this action, so he didn’t speak against it.

“Sir,” Marx cleared his throat, “I think we should move on to the part of this meeting.”

“I agree, Marx,” Julius nodded. “If you’ll all follow us,” he motioned, and everyone stood up and followed the duo out of the room to the lower floors of the headquarters, where they’d been keeping the prisoners of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.

“Ever since you’ve captured them, we’ve been interrogating them,” Marx said as he opened the door to reveal several of the captured terrorists, two of which Asta recognized.

One was the ice mage that invaded Soshi Village, and the other was the witch that sucked the magic power out of others, like some sort of leech or vampire, in order to retain her youthful appearance.

Heath Grice immediately recognized Asta, “Well, it looks as if you have achieved even greater heights, lad,” he said with a completely straight face.

Asta merely scowled heavily at the ice mage as he started to emit a heavy pressure. Many of the captains recognized it as the same pressure he forced them all to endure the day of the awards ceremony. The only ones in the room who seemed to be unaffected were Yami and the Wizard King, though they most definitely felt it.

Yami placed a hand on his shoulder, “Calm down, kid. I know you hate the guy’s guts, but we’re here to get information from him, not gut him like one of your prey animals.”

“Yami is right, Asta,” Julius said, “These two are the most heavily warded, so if you would please start with them?”

Asta looked at the smiling king out of the corner of his eye. “Fine,” he relented as he reeled in his spiritual power and walked over, and pulled out his slayer.

“Coming to finish what you started?” Heath asked.

“You’ll never get anything out of me!” the witch howled.

“Shut up, bitch,” Asta sneered as he konked her on the head with the hilt of his sword, causing her to be unconscious while anti-magic wisps wafted off her head.

He then followed suit and did the same to Heath.

“The enchants are gone now, so they're all yours,” Asta grumped as he went over and leaned against the wall next to the doorway.

Gueldre had been shaking under his mask and robes this whole time. He’d slowly been walking backwards towards the door when Asta had gone up to do his thing.

“Where ya goin, fatso?” he heard from next to him.

The older mage quickly turned and saw Asta glaring right at him.

“H-how d-did you g-get there?” Gueldre asked.

“I walked,” Asta eyed the captain, “You seem to be in a hurry to leave?”

Just when he said that Marx got an image in his magic, “This is…”

“Permeation Creation Magic!” Gueldre called out, “Army of Invisible Soldiers!”

Several see-through mounted plated armored knights appeared and charged at the group, while Geudlre used the opportunity to flee unseen.

“Stupid tricks,” Asta said as he walked out of the room. “I’m going ahead,” he called out as he shot forward and proceeded to jump from wall to wall, rocketing up.

“All I have to do is make it out of the building and over to the broomsticks, and I’m home free,” Gueldre wheezed.

“I don’t think so, fatty!” Asta yelled as he emerged from the stairwell and shot at Gueldre. In the next moment, the fat masked mage was gasping for an entirely new reason, as Asta held him up by his throat while slowly tightening his grip.

“What’s the matter? Can’t beg?” Asta sneered as the purple mage struggled for air.

Suddenly, Gueldre’s hands glowed as he gripped Asta's wrist. Soon, the Anti-Mage’s hand became transparent, allowing Gueldre to slip free and breathe once more. Asta looked at his hand, and soon, a light coating of anti-magic covered it, turning the appendage solid again.

In the meantime, Gueldre had managed to make it halfway across the courtyard before he sank into the ground.

“Boy, that was a close one,” Rill said with a paintbrush in his hand and a smile on his face. “Glad I made it in time. You were kind of bloodthirsty there, Asta.”

“Hmph,” Asta remarked as he waited alongside Rill while the others came up the stairs.

Soon, everyone was back in the basement, with a new prisoner for questioning. This time, the interrogation went off without a hitch and lasted till sundown.

“Yami, Asta,” Julius stopped the two bulls, “Come with me for a moment, please.”

Yami and Asta looked at each other and then shrugged before following the wizard king to a lone tower.

“Asta,” Julius looked at the youth, “Thank you for sharing your past with us. I know it's hard for you to talk about something like that and remain as calm as you did. But with that being said, I am a bit concerned about your… animosity toward Gueldre. Would you have killed him if he hadn’t used his magic on you?”

“I was severely pissed, but no, I wouldn’t have killed that fat ass,” Asta glared, “He’s too valuable to kill, but that didn’t mean I was going to show him any mercy.”

“Though this kingdom is not your own, you were still highly upset about our former captain’s actions,” Julius pointed out, “Why?”

“Because he involved the innocents, and more importantly, the people I deeply care about in his petty bullshit to bring down your city,” Asta continued to mercilessly glare, “I nearly lost one of my… the girls’ I care about little brothers because he had a heavy hand to play in the invasion. If you brought me here to continue to probe me as to where my allegiance lies, then I’ll leave the knights and destroy the cultists on my own.”

Julius looked back into the extremely unnerved teen’s gaze.

Yami finally spoke up, “Julius,” he blew smoke, “What's the reason you called us out here?”

“Sorry if it seemed like I still didn’t trust you, Asta,” Julius turned to face the sunset, “But I had to be sure, and from seeing your anger, I can tell you’re on our side. I must admit that even though we have Gueldre in custody, I am still unnerved as to what these terrorists want overall.”

“These magic stones,” Asta said as he held up the one from Sosshi Village, causing Julius to turn and look at him, “That being one of their goals at least. Heath mentioned that he and his cronies were after some sort of an artifact when we stopped them. We were given this by the village head. It’s the only thing I could think of that matched an artifact.”

“Fuegoloen did mention that Fragment guy took his necklace after he knocked old flames unconscious,” Yami added with a good bit of hostility.

“Hmmm…” Julius thought, “I think more than two is more than enough proof to justify it. So, they’re after magic stones, but why? They may not be common amongst people but these gems aren’t exactly hard to find either.”

“They’re either part of a set or have very specific properties,” Asta looked into his reflection of the stone, “The next step is to find the rest before the Eye of the Midnight Sun does.”

“I have an idea of where to start. How do you feel about the beach?” Julius smiled, “There’s no telling just how far the corruption of the knights has spread, and you two and the Black Bulls are the only ones I can think of with the task of collecting these artifacts.”

“I think I get it,” Yami said, “No one expects a lot of us, due to our less-than-honorable reps, so no one would question why we went out to a random location, like the beaches of Raque.”

“The Seabed Temple,” Asta mock thought, though the mention of the Temple threw Julius and Yami for a loop, “It makes sense, with it being in a Grandmagic Zone. The Seabed Temple would be the perfect place to mask the presence of artifacts with a very specific function.”

“Asta… you know about the temple?” Julius asked, still a bit perplexed.

“I’m not as stupid as everyone thinks, your majesty,” Asta smirked, “I just like people to think that way, as it makes it a lot easier to get access to info that others don’t expect you to have. Then, there’s the look they have on their faces, like the ones you and Captain Yami have now. Ahahahaha!”

“I suggest we head out soon, then,” Yami said as he looked at Julius, “The tides will be just right in about a week,” he looked at Julius and performed the Magic Knight salute, which Asta followed suit, “You have my word that we’ll complete the mission you’ve given us.”

“Sir!” Asta acknowledged.

“I have no doubts then,” Julius smiled.

“Come on, kid,” Yami motioned, “We need to track down Finral and then tell the news. Not looking forward to that…”

“Me either…” Asta looked a bit apprehensive off to the side, “Though… I hope I can work things out with her….”

“You better,” Yami laughed, “She’s our ace in the hole after all.”