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“Captain Yaaamiii! You’re back!” an over enthusiastic Asta yelled. Yami grunted, not even halfway out of Finral’s portal.
“Yami?” Vanessa drawled, dead drunk on the couch, as per usual. “Ohh, welcome back, Captain~”
Magna and Luck were too busy stuck in one of their fights, with Luck holding pudding in one hand and Magna back with the other.
“Give me my
goddamn
pudding
back
before I
destroy you
,” Magna screeched. Luck laughed and took a bite from the pudding. “W’lcome b’ck Cap’ain!” He shouted, mouth still full of pudding. He swallowed. “Wanna fight now? I’d love a good fight! We should totally fight-”
“HUUUUH? FIGHT ME FIRST OR DIE,” Manga screamed, and tackled Luck. The usual fireballs and lightning broke out.
Gauche scowled. “Magna, shut the hell up, you’re disturbing my time with my lovely Marie. How dare you foul her photo with your presence.”
He went ignored.
Grey, who was hiding in the corner, yelped at the new development. “W-w-welcome b-back Captain!” she stuttered, then promptly ran. Gordon, who was next to her, mumbled something. Probably a greeting as well.
Charmy paid no mind to the chaos unfolding. She simply cooked away in the kitchen, and whatever her magical cotton sheep finished preparing was instantly devoured.
“Shut up,” Yami growled, glad to be back home. “You lot are noisy as shit.”
“Sorry, Captain Yami, sir!” Asta yelled. Yami stalked forward and grabbed his head.
“Ow ow ow ow ouch Captain Yami sir that hurts ow ow ow-”
“Brat. Go sleep. You’re going on a mission tomorrow. Go find Noelle and tell her she’s going too,” Yami intoned.
“Ow! Yes sir, Captain Yami sir, please let me go now! Ow!”
Yami released him. He scampered off to find Noelle, who was likely in her room. Yami turned around, and saw Finral trying to sneak off. “You. You’re on tomorrow’s mission as well. Go sleep.”
“W-what!? Can’t you choose someone else, Captain?” he whined, drooping. He was not looking forward to waking up early for a mission the
Captain
got himself stuck in. Yami was shit when it came to gambling, unless it involved the lives of people. Tonight, it had left the two with an early morning mission, and it was already so
late
.
“Do you want to die?”
“No, sir! I’ll go tomorrow!” Finral yelped.
“Good. Now leave. I’m gonna take a shit.”
“Why is it always me?” Finral moaned quietly as he walked off.
~♣️~
The trio had woken up early the next day.
“I’m royalty, you know,” Noelle grumped. She looked dead on her feet. “And this mission is set
far
too early for my tastes.”
“It’s never too early to help the people of Clover Kingdom!!” Asta yelled. He was absolutely
pumped
to get a move on with the mission, as he usually was.
“Shut up,” Finral hissed. He had visible bags under his eyes; the result of getting poor or minimal sleep. “You’re going to wake up the entire base!”
They ate a quick but hearty breakfast, courtesy of Charmy (who was usually up before the crack of dawn). The trio thanked her, and left via Finral’s spatial magic to get to their destination.
The mission wasn’t much. Yami had lost yet another round of gambling against an amicable old geezer, with a favor on the line as the reward. The old man had cashed it in right then, asking the magic knights to come to his town to fight off some wild boars (
“I’ve heard a lot about a magicless boy on your squad, Mr. Yami,” the old man said. “A mere peasant, from the boonies. Think you can get him on your team for tomorrow?
”). Apparently, they were rampaging through his village-
“This is super similar to our first mission, Noelle! Right? And the geezer made a request for me! Me specifically!! At this rate I’ll become the Wizard King in no time!” Asta interrupted.
“Shut it, peasant,” she responded.
“Aww, so mean!”
“Shut it,
both of you
. I’m trying to explain the mission here,” Finral grumbled. “Anyway…
“We were informed that the boars usually roam freely around these parts. It’s during the fall when they start rampaging - probably against each other, cause they’re out hunting for the best prey before winter sets in. They should’ve moved on to other parts of the country then. Unfortunately, something stopped them this year. Our mission is to scare them off, since the villagers here got hurt while trying to do it themselves. That’s all. Any questions?”
“Not a single one! When can we get a move on?” Asta said.
“In a minute,” Finral responded. “Noelle, any questions?”
She huffed out, “No. Now let’s go, I want to get back and get some sleep. We woke up way too early for this,”
“I second that. Let’s go,” Finral said.
“Boy, I sure hope nothing goes wrong with this mission!” Asta cheered.
~♣️~
The mission wasn’t much. It was never supposed to be, so how the fuck had things gone this far south?
“Asta! Behind you!” Finral yelled from across the grassy plains turned battlefield.
Asta spared a glance behind him, catching a glance of a swirling portal. Without hesitation, he hurled his body into it, and exited out the other side, next to Finral. Finral did the same for Noelle, and the group strategically retreated. Noelle casted her Sea Dragon’s Lair spell around the ragged little group. They needed to catch their breath and create a plan before one of them sustained any more injuries.
Noelle’s whole left side was already scratched in several places, and she was panting slightly. Out of the three, she was the least injured. Finral’s right arm was busted, fractured in several places. But his wrist and fingers were still working, so he could still spark portals somewhat properly. It was never enough for the three to escape far, though. He also had various cuts all over his body that were bleeding sluggishly.
Asta had sustained the worst injuries. Finral examined his teammate. He seemed to have a severely bruised left leg (Finral didn’t leave out the possibility of there being a fracture), long gashes were running down his right leg, and his left arm was
definitely
broken. He also had a few scratches.
Finral would’ve been surprised at the fact that Asta was standing, had Asta been anyone else. But Finral knew Asta well, and he knew that those injuries wouldn’t take him down.
“So what the hell happened back there?” Noelle hissed, the vitriol in her tone hiding the tremor that snaked through it. “Who are those guys? And why couldn’t I sense their mana?”
(The trio of Black Bulls were done with their mission. Well, almost, but it was as good as finished. The whole mission was incredibly easy, the wild boars not too hard to scare off. Asta was about to send the last, most stubborn boar on its way when they were ambushed.
“Haze Magic: Misty Night Rewind!” and the attackers were suddenly visible.
A woman fell on top of Noelle, an attack already ripping through air towards the royal. Noelle, who fell heavily on her left side, managed to redirect the attack with a quick burst of water. The two fell into battle, another strange man joining the woman.
Finral was hit from behind. The force wasn’t strong, but it was surprising enough that he fell forward anyway. He tried to create a portal to escape, but a voice snarled, “Not today, bitch.”
Finral’s right arm was violently wrenched behind his body, and some object was brought down with great force on it. He felt it
crack
in several places. He choked on a scream, the pain hitting his senses full force.
He still had enough mobility with his now broken arm to create a portal. He fell through it, collapsing next to a tree.
Meanwhile, Asta was hit the hardest. While only two people had gotten to Noelle, and one to Final, Asta was surprised by
four
people. The appearance of the strangers spooked the wild boar so badly that it lashed out at the nearest object - Asta’s leg - and bolted. Something collided with his other leg, and he felt the bones in them creak.
He tried to pull out his demon swords, but had to leave one back in his grimoire when one of the attackers landed a very heavy hit on his left arm. He felt it break, but Asta only grit his teeth harder, and fell into battle with a yell.)
“No idea,” Asta replied, quiet for once. “I couldn’t sense their Ki, either - it was almost like they weren’t there in the first place.”
“It must’ve been a cloaking spell, then,” Finral concluded. “One that removed their presence from our senses completely. When we go back out there, we have to be careful. We
have
to defeat all of them before we can leave, because as things stand right now, my portals are only good for support. I can’t hold them open for long, and I can’t go far distances. So I’ll support you guys from the sides. Asta, Noelle, you two will attack.”
“There’s a current total of 8 people,” Noelle added. “The four that went after Asta, the two after me, the one after Finral, and the mage with the haze magic.”
A determined glint entered Asta’s eyes. “Yeah, those are manageable numbers. So let’s go back out there and
kick ass
.”
“And then go back to the base. To sleep. A royal like me needs her beauty sleep, you know,” Noelle added. Finral grinned through the pain.
“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s GO!”
With that, Noelle dropped the Sea Dragon’s Lair and ran. Asta leaped forward, and Finral fell back into a portal.
The battle resumed with the same intensity it had before, with one stark difference: the winner was already decided.
The Black Bulls never backed off.
~♣️~
The fight was over relatively quickly, and all seven of the strangers had been captured and tied up. They refused to utter even a single word about their motives, however. It was strange.
No one from the trio had sustained any more damage. Only their stamina and mana levels (excluding Asta - he had no magic, and his stamina levels were off the charts) were depleted.
Still, something was wrong. Asta knew he was stupidly oblivious to things at times, but he could sense it. Something was off.
“Hey guys,” he said, turning to his teammates. “Don’t you think someth-”
“Haze Magic: Misty Night Rewind!”
And with a cry, the missing eighth member of the group rematerialized. He was already in motion, mere inches from Asta’s back - but Asta was already turning around, pulling his demon dweller sword out of his grimoire.
Asta was too late.
The man raised his arms upward, and the sun glinted off of an object in his hands - a knife. It plunged down in a deadly arc, hitting the side of Asta’s stomach. He coughed, blood forcing its way past his lips, and took a heavy step back. The haze mage fled into the night.
“ASTA!” Noelle screamed.
But it didn’t end there. Another voice spoke, somehow sending the world around them into silence. The words were whispered, yet they were carried by the wind to everyone’s ears.
“Hex Magic: Sacrificial Technique - Soulless Pain.”
A flash of led light zipped towards Asta. He saw it coming, as if it were all in slow motion.
His eyes flicked to his right. Finral was running towards him, arm already up to spark a portal to divert the strange spell.
He won’t make it in time,
Asta realized.
A glance to his left. Noelle had abandoned the strangers, running at a dead sprint towards him. Her wand was already raised, a spell bursting from its tip. With a growing horror, Asta realized that Noelle wouldn’t make it in time either. The two were simply too far from him.
He looked at the mage behind the spell.
Dead. The mage was dead. He had likely given up his life, if the name was anything to go by. He looked back at the little light snaking its way towards his chest, and time resumed its normal course.
The portal opened up. The torrent of water shot by, just barely missing the portal.
But it was too late.
The light hit Asta, and his world
shattered
.
He collapsed onto the ground screaming, nothing but pure
pain
ripping throughout his whole body.
He struggled for breath, hands clawing at his chest. His nerves were on fire, and every one of his senses were chanting nothing but
pain pain pain
.
The last thing he remembered was the terrified looks in his friend’s eyes.
His eyes slipped shut, and he sank into the darkness.
~♣️~
“What’s wrong with him?
What’s wrong with him?
” Noelle screamed, on the edge of hysterics.
Neither of their spells had made it in time, and the strange spell had hit Asta. His scream was something that would follow the two into their nightmares for weeks to come.
“I don’t
know!
” Finral yelled back. His good arm was poking and prodding at Asta, hoping it would yield some clues as to what had happened. But it was hopeless. So instead, Finral moved on to treating the bleeding wounds.
Noelle ran to the fallen form of the magic user that had caused this. He was dead. His life for a spell, it had seemed, though how such a thing was possible in the first place was beyond Noelle.
She bolted back to the line of strangers. They were in the same spot, where she had left them, yet… in different positions.
They were dead too. Noelle let loose a string of curses.
She thoroughly checked each body, trying to find a pulse or heartbeat or a trace of breath, but the search was fruitless.
Except for the last person. The last person was still alive, but it was clear that they were on the edge of death.
“What did you
do?
” Noelle screamed, yanking their head up. But they only laughed in Noelle's face.
“Revenge… it was,” they coughed violently. “…all for revenge. That boy… cause of misfortune… that fell on our land.” They smiled. It was a crooked, twisted thing that cracked their lips further and caused them to bleed. They coughed up blood.
“What misfortune?Why do you need to get revenge? And for what!?” Noelle cried, her vision blurring over with tears.
But once again, it was too late. The stranger heaved their last breath and went limp in Noelle’s arms.
She pushed the corpse off of herself and stumbled to her feet. Furiously wiping at her eyes, she promised herself she wouldn’t break down just yet. She still needed to get Asta to safety, and Finral needed medical treatment and fast. Noelle herself was about to crash from the adrenaline that had been racing through her just a few moments prior.
She hurried back to where Finral was kneeling. He was done with the first aid, and Asta appeared to be in a stable enough condition to allow him to be moved.
“Finral,” Noelle began. “I know you’re hurt, but you have to get us back to the base. We’re in no condition to be up and about anymore, not after all of… that.”
Finral kneeled for a moment longer, before nodding and standing up. He chuckled, but no trace of humor could be detected in it “I got it. Right here, right now, I’ll surpass my limits. Just watch me.”
Noelle gently picked Asta up. Finral took a deep breath, and gathered together whatever mana he could. He exhaled, and opened a portal directly back to the Black Bull’s base.
~♣️~
It was a lazy morning back at the base. Charmy was still in the kitchen, humming a little melody to herself as she cooked. Magna and Luck were out training, Vanessa was drunk already (or so it seemed. No one had actually seen her drink anything), Grey was nervously eating breakfast, and everyone else was asleep.
A portal opened up. Only Grey looked up, and nearly jumped out of her skin with fright when three figures stumbled through the portal. Asta was in Noelle’s arms, and Finral was right behind her. All of them looked like they had gone through a storm and returned.
Vanessa immediately sat up. “What’s wrong?”
Finral winced. “Went on a mission. It was a fucking trap. This portal will stay open for 10 minutes, use it wisely.” He managed to stumble over to one of the couches before his eyes rolled up and he passed out.
“There’s eight bodies you should probably bring back,” Noelle said, depositing Asta onto another couch. “They all died. Asta was hit with Hex magic. Get Gordon on researching that. And get Doctor Owen. Goodnight,” she groaned out. She too passed out.
“Well,” Vanessa muttered. “Fuck.”
Grey screamed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Apparently, Grey’s scream was enough to wake the entire base up. Vanessa’s ears were still ringing faintly, even though a handful of minutes had already passed.
And yes, everyone was gathered around the three collapsed members and panicking. It didn’t help that eight corpses were also nearby, surrounding a spatial magic portal that was
still open
.
Finral,
Vanessa sighed to herself.
It’s been over 10 minutes. What did you do this time?
“Everyone,” Yami said, voice rising. “Shut up. I can’t hear Marc.”
A second of silence passed, and then another. Then all at once, everyone exploded.
“Wait what-”
“You already call-”
“-at’s our captain!”
“Shut
up
.”
“...sorry, Captain.”
“
You have the rowdiest squad, Yami.
” Marc sighed.
“How do you keep them all in check? Well anyway, I’ve sent some of the Golden Dawn to come pick the three up. I hope you guys won't cause too many issues.”
With that, the communication device in Yami’s hand died.
“You heard him, runts. Gordon, Grey, Gauche, go research the Hex Magic. Vanessa, you’re coming with me and the three over there to Owen’s. Charmy, you’re running the place. Keep everyone in check, and make sure Magna and Luck don’t run off again once they return. You three and Henry will be our defense while the rest are out. Everyone got it?”
“Yes, Captain!” they yelled back, and scattered.
Not even 20 minutes later, the Golden Dawn came knocking.
“Hell,” Yami said. “I know you guys were meant to be fast, but not
that
fast.”
“Hello,” Klaus said. We’re here to pick up your team members. Apparently something strange happened to Asta as well?”
Mimosa peeked out from behind Klaus’ back, concern visible in her eyes. Yuno was also here, standing away from the entrance. He looked calm and collected, but his fingers rose and fell with anxiety, betraying his true emotions.
“Sounds about right,” Yami grunted. “Healer, they’re over there.” He stuck a thumb in the vague direction of the couches. Mimosa entered the base and quickly walked over. She started using her healing magic to patch the injured Black Bulls up. “When do we leave?”
“Ah, in a few moments. Though I’m still drained from the fight recently, and all of us healers have been using mana left and right to heal all of the wounded the fight with the elves caused.” Mimosa replied. “Still, I’ll try my best!”
Yami walked away from the hideout’s entrance, and Kalus and Yuno took this as their cue to enter.
Not long after, they departed again. Yami and Vanessa rode on their respective broomsticks, and Yuno created a small platform out of his wind magic. The prone forms of Asta, Noelle, and Finral were loaded on, with Mimosa and Klaus hovering near them to make sure nothing went wrong. With that, they took off.
~♣️~
It was dark. Everything was dark. No matter which way Asta turned, his movements feeling incredibly sluggish, he could find nothing.
His thoughts were hazy and jumbled, and the only clear thing he could remember was the twisting red light.
What happened to… Noelle! Finral! Are those two alright?
“Stop thinking so
loudly,
jeez!”
Who said that??
“It’s just me. Though you don’t know me yet,” the strange voice cackled. But the voice tickled something in Asta’s memory…
He forced himself to turn around once more, and sure enough, the devil was there.
It’s you again!!
Asta thought, recalling the expedition to the Witch's Forest when he had met the devil that had lived inside of his grimoire.
Though the devil looked… sickly this time. The devil’s form was a lot smaller, for one. Strange, sickly vines were also wrapping around its body, composed of that same red light that Asta remembered.
“Yeah, I wonder why I’m like this. Maybe it was because you had to go and get hit with
hex magic
of all magics. That stuff was supposed to have disappeared years ago, but
nooo
, apparently not.”
“Then I’ll get it off for you!” Asta yelled, before charging at the devil. He wasn’t too far from the otherworldly creature, so even though he was moving sluggishly, he was able to wrap his hands around the strange vines. He pulled-
-and lurched back into reality with a sharp gasp. He didn’t have a single moment to process where he was or what was going on before the wave of pain slammed back into his senses full force. The world was shaking now, and he was shaking along with it, and it was getting harder to
breathe-
“SHIT!” he heard a voice yell out. “ASTA’S HAVING A SEIZURE-“
“Mimosa!”
“On it! Plant Magic: Princess-Healing Flower Robe!”
“Vanessa!”
“I understand!”
Asta felt hands grab his thrashing arms, trying to pin them down. Since he was severely weakened, the strategy worked, if barely.
Another, much lighter weight landed on his chest, the little thing meowing softly. Through his blurred vision, he could make out the shapes of Mimosa healing him, Rouge sitting on his chest, and Vanessa flying on a broom, not too far behind.
Gradually, the pain faded away enough for Asta to get a vague idea of what was going on. But it wasn’t fully gone, and the jolt from unconsciousness to reality had taken a much greater toll on him than he realized.
At some point, Asta saw Klaus leaning over his head; his mouth was moving but none of the sounds registered in Asta’s brain.
Not too long later, Yami showed up as well.
Has he been here the entire time? Probably.
“You did well, kid,” he whispered, the words carrying themselves across the whipping winds. There was no way Asta should’ve been able to hear them, yet he did. “Now rest.”
So Asta did. He let himself sink back into the merciful blackness.
~♣️~
Mimosa sat back, utterly exhausted. Asta’s episode had lasted nearly ten minutes, and he had nearly faded several times during that process. It was only thanks to Vanessa and her red thread of fate that he had survived.
It was another 10 minutes of trying to assess his situation, asking him questions to see if he would respond at all. He never did, his glassy eyes staring at a point far off in the distance. He passed back out again shortly after.
Mimosa saw Yuno merely grit his teeth and pick up the pace, focus never wavering.
Not too long later, the group of magic knights arrived in the capital. They flew over to Owen’s office, and saw him ready with supplies when they landed. Two other healers were also on standby, and they rushed to get the injured Black Bulls onto beds and check them over.
Mimosa explained what happened with Asta on the way over, and Owen started checking him over. It wasn’t long before his diagnosis was ready to be delivered. He stood up and began speaking to the gathered magic knights.
“Most of the injuries he sustained are pretty much healed. He’ll still need a sling for his arm, though, since that was broken pretty badly. His left leg was fractured, and his right leg had scratches, but those are healed thanks to Mimosa’s magic.”
Mimosa blushed a little, feeling slightly relieved. “Do you know what caused the seizure on our way over?” She asked.
“Ah… that.” Owen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That is a
very
complicated thing. Sit down, the lot of you, and pay close attention.”
Yami lit another cigarette. He’d burned through four already.
“When I was assessing Asta, I noticed something very strange. Something that hasn’t been seen in… a very long time, to say the least. There are documentations of this appearing in small villages in the Forsaken Realm, but all were believed to be fabrications.”
“Quit beatin’ ‘round the bush, will ya?” Yami growled.
Owen sighed again. “Hex magic. That’s what’s plaguing Asta right now.”
He was met with a room full of silence. Yuno’s expression took on faint confusion, as did Mimosa’s, while everyone else in the room looked outright baffled. Vanessa in particular looked downright
terrified.
“Ain’t no way,” Yami muttered. “I thought they were lying.”
“That cursed power was said to have gone extinct! What do you mean, it’s plaguing Asta?” Klaus nearly yelled.
“Hex magic, and on
Asta
of all people? Shit.”
“Um… what is hex magic?” Yuno asked, a tad bit hesitantly.
Owen started explaining. “Hex magic is a magic that was running rampant a couple of decades ago. In a small, unnamed village, there was a family of four who all possessed this magic. When they used it on people, it would usually cause a lot of pain, and usually resulted in broken bones as well. It was very destructive, but also very efficient. And the villagers hated the family for that. So they set out one night, forming a mob. You can guess what happened next.
“Some records of this magic popping up in vague places in the country are what’s left. Until now, apparently.”
“There’s something else you don’t know,” Vanessa added, a haunted look on her face. “We’re not a hundred percent sure this is true but… a couple of decades ago, when those hex magic users were still alive, the witches had a hex magic user in their ranks as well. They had a small devil outbreak in the forest during that time, and the hex witch played an important part in defeating them.
“She killed most of the devils, but one was too powerful for her to handle. So she used a sacrificial technique, something no one has ever been able to replicate. She traded her life for a spell powerful enough to take this devil down. The records stated that ‘no words could ever describe the sound the devil made that day.’ And the devil itself died after a week, without further intervention from the witches. Basically, hex magic is
incredibly powerful
against those with or affiliated with devils.”
Silence descended around the room.
“Oh, holy
shit
,” Noelle whispered from the doorway. She was completely healed; the only thing left were faint bags under her eyes. She had also changed into a new outfit.
“Noelle?” Mimosa yelped. “When did you get here?”
“Right around when Owen started explaining hex magic, but that’s not important. Whoever attacked us, he
used that sacrificial spell
.” Noelle stressed, her voice quavering. “His exact words for the spell were ‘Hex Magic - Sacrificial Technique: Soulless Pain.’”
Vanessa’s eyes widened. “How did- that’s the exact spell name that was recorded in the books. And he… Asta was…”
“How do we stop this.” Yami intoned. He seemed indifferent to the matter at hand, but that was before you looked closer. His fists were clenched, his cigarette was nearly finished, and the murderous glint in his eyes was one only Yami could have. It promised a painful death for whoever had planned this, if they weren’t dead already.
Yuno finally spoke up, his voice betraying none of the emotions he felt. “If this larger, much more powerful devil died after a week of getting hit with the spell, then how long does Asta have?”
“Four days, give or take,” Owen replied without looking up. He had turned back to inspecting Asta with his magic, though Mimosa doubted it would yield results.
Yuno moved over to Asta's bedside, dragging his chair along with him. He set it down and flopped into it.
Yami stalked over to the door, snatching up his broom from where it sat, leaning against the doorframe. “Vanessa, you stay here. I’m going to check up on those in the base.”
“Yami, wait!”
But he was gone, and Klaus had followed suit. In his place, though, a very confused Finral was standing.
“What happened? And why is Captain pissed!?” Finral squeaked. He was fully healed, except for his arm, which was in a sling. “What did I miss?”
“Finral!” Mimosa said. “You’re okay! Come here, I’ll bring you up to speed.” She brought another chair next to hers, and Finral sat down. Mimosa started explaining.
~♣️~
He was back in that cursed darkness again, though some things were different.
Somehow, the never ending darkness felt suffocating, almost claustrophobic this time. It was closing in on Asta and he had nowhere to run-
“I’ll say it again,
stop thinking so loudly!
” and a fist smacked the back of his head. Asta snapped out of it, yelling an indignant “ow! What do you want!”
“Listen to me next time, will ya? We nearly died!” the devil yelled back.
“We… did?”
“Yes, dumbass, now listen to me. Basically, you were hit with hex magic. Hex magic should’ve disappeared decades ago, but apparently not. Anyway. Hex magic is very powerful, and even more so against anyone and
anything
relating back to demons or devils. And you got hit by their most powerful spell. So we’re dying.”
Asta turned around to the best of his ability, and truly took in the devil this time. Before, the creature was easily over a hundred times larger than him. In their previous encounter, his size was a mere fraction of what it had been before. And now?
The devil was barely twice his size. There were more of the red light vines wrapped around his body, centered around his chest… No, they were going
in
his chest. Asta felt disgusted at that.
“Oh, you think that’s weird? Look at yourself,” the devil said. So Asta complied, glancing down at his own chest.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” he screeched. Because the exact same vines were covering him. And that meant the vines were
in his chest as well
-
“
WHAT THE FUCK??
” he screeched again, because, well,
what the fuck???
At least it explained why he was having difficulty breathing. He only had weird vines
shoving their way into his chest-
“Shut UP,” the devil hollered. “Hell, even your thoughts are noisy twenty-four seven!”
“How the fuck are you reading my thoughts?” Asta yelled, scrambling back from the devil.
“If you quieted down and thought of anything, you’ll hear it echo all around you,” the devil started. “I don’t know why, but we - or rather, our consciousnesses - are currently in a place that ties back to you more than me. Because of that, the main thoughts passing over the surface of your mind are essentially broadcasted.”
Asta’s brain was steaming.
“Oh come on, it wasn’t
that
complicated!”
“So anyway, what’s your name?” Asta said, in lieu of a reply.
The devil looked bewildered, cocking his head in surprise. “My name?”
“Yeah, I can’t keep calling you ‘the devil’ in my head. It’s annoying.”
The devil scoffed halfheartedly. “My name’s not important, especially when I’m here to take over your body. You can just give up now and, I don’t know, let me take control?”
Asta huffed, amused. “We both know you don’t want that, so you can stop pretending now. What’s your name?”
“...Liebe. It’s Liebe.”
“Liebe, huh?” Asta smiled. “That’s a nice name.”
(“Liebe, huh?” Licita said, a smile spreading across her face. Happiness danced in her emerald green eyes. “That’s a nice name.”)
Liebe gasped softly. This boy…
“What’s wrong?” Asta asked.
“Nothing. So how are we going to get rid of this magic curse?”
“I’ll use my anti magic swords!!” Asta exclaimed.
“No, you idiot! You can barely move without feeling extreme pain. How the hell are you gonna lift a huge hunk of rusted metal?” Liebe shot back.
“I don’t know, but it’s our best bet!”
“...And how are you gonna wake yourself up? Liebe asked, amused.
“OH BODY OF MINE!” Asta yelled. “PLEASE WAKE UP NOW!”
“That’s not gonna work-”
Asta’s form disappeared, waving away like a mirage in a desert.
“...or maybe it will. Huh.”
~♣️~
Asta woke up slowly. He heard voices murmuring in the room, surrounding him. He could make out Noelle and Vanessa conversing, towards the corner of the room. Mimosa and Finral were nearby, and Yuno occasionally added his thoughts on the matter they were discussing. Asta tried moving around, but found out that his movements were sluggish and weak, much to his disappointment. He groaned, opening his eyes, and immediately closed them again. It was too bright in the room.
“Asta! Guys, Asta's awake!”
“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t crowd him, you guys…”
“I knew you would wake up, Asta. Should I get Owen?”
The dulled waves of pain spiked in intensity as he raised his good arm, shading his eyes as he tried opening them again. His other arm was in a sling.
Asta let his hand fall onto his face and squeezed his eyes shut. “Too bright,” he managed to grumble out. “And you guys are too loud.”
“Sorry!” Mimosa and Noelle’s voices chorused, much quieter than before. A few moments passed, some shuffling noises breaking the silence in the room. “Alright, it should be better now.”
Asta removed his hand, and sure enough, he could see without having his eyes stabbed out with light. “Thanks,” he said. He lowered his hand behind his back, trying to push himself up into a sitting position. The pain spiked again, and he tried to not let it show on his face. He couldn’t fool Yuno, though, who moved to help him for the rest of the way. “What time is it?”
Yuno responded, “It’s around 2:40 pm.”
Asta gasped. “Oh shit, it’s been over
eight hours
since the mission?”
Yuno nodded, face impassive. But Asta could spot all of his nervous giveaways - the way he worried the bottom corner of his lips, the way his eyes darted around slightly.
“Awe, you were worried, were you?” Asta teased. “There’s no reason to be!”
“You’re dying,” Yuno said bluntly.
“I know!”
Everyone regarded Asta with silent surprise. “You do?” Noelle asked, in a strangled sounding voice.
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “I talked with… with, uh…. Crap, I forgot. Anyway, if it’s magic plaguing me, I can just get rid of it with my anti magic! Raaahhhhh!!”
He thrust his good arm out, and his grimoire reacted. But before it could start flipping through the pages, a hand slammed it shut. It was Noelle.
“You… idiot! Total moron! Stupidsta! You’re supposed to be resting, you’re
dying,
you can’t ignore something like that! And… and
we forgot to talk about the fact that you were being targeted!! Aaaaargghhh!!!
”
Tears had gathered in her eyes, and Mimosa moved over to pat Noelle gently on the head. “There, there, it’s okay. We can come back to that later, just focus on the present, okay?”
Noelle sniffed. “Okay. Sorry.”
“To be fair,” Finral said, finally speaking up, “Asta’s idea may have some credibility to it. There never was any anti magic back then, so we don’t know how it’ll react. But it’s worth a shot, right?”
Yuno nodded his head. “We should wait for Owen to arrive though, it’s best we test this idea out with a good healing mage on standby. Vanessa said she was going to find him.”
So they waited, and a few minutes later, Vanessa appeared with Owen in tow. Or maybe it was the other way around. Both were eager to get to Asta; they had been incredibly worried. Vanessa started chatting with the small group formed, before Owen shooed them all outside. “I need space for this checkup, and there’s far too many of you. Shoo, leave, I’ll call you back when I’m done,” he said.
They left, and the room was silent once more. Owen activated his magic, and Asta watched in wonder as the jellyfish tentacles scanned him. Once the cursory scan was complete, Owen started asking Asta about his symptoms.
“Hex magic can be a fickle thing, especially since this is pretty much our first encounter with it in this day and age. Can you explain everything you felt at the impact of the spell to what you’re feeling right now?”
“Oh, sure. Basically, when it hit, I was hit with a wall of pain. And… I’m not too sure but I think I woke up again sometime after that? Everything hurt then as well, and I remember it was kind of hard to breathe. It still is, actually. The pain then dulled down, and it’s been the same since. Oh, and when I woke up, everything was too bright and loud and it’s hard to move.That hasn’t changed.”
Owen hummed. “Okay, thank you. It appears that healing magic, combined with the manipulation of fate, was able to dull down and slow the things you’ve been experiencing. But these two devices cannot help you anymore.”
“Actually, I had an idea. See, this is a magic curse. I wield anti magic. I can use my swords to burn out the magic!”
“That… is certainly worth a try. Shall we bring the others in, now?”
“Yeah! Then I’ll try my idea.”
Owen stood up and walked outside, and returned a moment later with the others.
“Astaaa~!” Vanessa yelled excitedly. She had an unopened bottle of wine in her hand.
“Are we actually following through with your idea?” Noelle questioned.
“I, personally, think the idea has some merit to it and is worth a try,” Owen said. “But speaking from a doctor’s point of view, we don’t know what will happen after. It might be dangerous.”
“Well, it’ll be fine. The idea’s on the table and I say to follow through with it!” Asta shouted. “It’s just… Miss Vanessa, I’ll need your help. I can’t lift my arm properly…”
“You got it!” Vanessa said, bringing out her thread magic. She manipulated the threads to snake around his arms and fist, and he called his demon slayer sword out of his grimoire.
Asta clutched the sword in his hand, and carefully brought it to tap at his chest. The reaction was immediate and violent.
The same red light exploded from Asta’s chest, expanding outward. It traveled in a ring about a foot away from him, before the particles abruptly disappeared. His sword flew along with the small wave of light, and it hit the opposite wall with a mighty clang.
Asta himself doubled over pain, his good hand digging into his chest. His breaths came out in harsh gasps; he was unable to get enough air in his lungs. He knew nothing could help - no healing magic, herbs, or the like - his situation now. He could only ride out the wave of pain.
Everyone else was worried, but he assured them that once again, it would be fine. So everyone went back to their respective seats, and conversation started up again. Owen stayed behind to keep an eye on Asta.
An agonizing twenty minutes later, the pain started to fade. It reached the level it was previously at and… kept fading away. Asta laughed, a breathless little thing that immediately captivated everybody’s attention.
“It worked,” he said. “It’s not fully gone, but it
worked!
” And he laughed, overjoyed.
Everyone else cheered, and tackled him for a group hug.
Asta managed to wheeze out “guys, it still hur’s!”
The group lessened up on the pressure, laughing.
There was hope, after all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Someone had definitely informed Yami about Asta’s awakening, because an hour after their little experiment, the man himself stormed into the room.
Mimosa had returned to the Golden Dawn’s headquarters to rest up, trying and failing to bring Yuno along with her. Vanessa stayed, just in case something went wrong (though obviously she doubted that, considering the fact that she was dead drunk and laying on the floor), and Noelle and Finral left to return to the base. They would also join the small research team - which consisted of Grey, Gordon, and Gauche (and maybe Magna and Luck, though those two would probably get kicked out of the library for being noisy) - to try their best to help Asta.
Before everyone had left, Owen gave them his updated diagnosis. “Before,” he started gravely. “We thought you were going to die in around four days. It was thanks to Mimosa and Vanessa’s magic that it was four days in the first place. They got rid of half the magic plaguing before you were brought here. You started having a seizure, and were
very
close to dying several times, according to their account. Anyway, the idea with the anti magic did its work, but you’re not out of the woods yet. The hex magic still resides within you, and will keep sucking away at your life because of the demon inside you. As of now, you have two weeks.”
“Don’t worry, Owen!” Asta said, still cheerful. “I believe in my friends, and so we
will
find a way out of this.”
Vanessa patted the younger member’s head, smiling. “You can count on us! Now who wants a drink?”
“Please don’t give Asta anything like that,” Owen muttered.
“Killjoy. But okay.”
“Sorry, Vanessa,” Mimosa apologized. “I have to return back to headquarters now. Yuno, you should come with me.”
“No thanks,” he replied.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll stay.”
“Noelle and I should probably head back to our base as well,” Finral said.
“Yeah, Captain Yami should have some of us working to find more information on this magic. We could help out,” Noelle agreed.
“Alright. Also you should probably send Yami back if you do stumble into him,” Vanessa said.
Finral and Noelle visibly winced, and Mimosa looked at the two pityingly. “Alright.”
Asta was just confused, but he decided against questioning it. And shortly after everyone had left, he had fallen asleep again.
Then Yami arrived. Asta woke up with a tiny gasp, because the pure murderous intent radiating off of the new arrival’s Ki was a shock. Asta identified it as Yami’s right before he broke the room’s door down. Yuno looked up from the book he was reading with a start, and Vanessa just didn’t react.
Yami stalked over to Asta and grabbed his head. Asta, panicking, started yelling “Captain Yami sir I’m still hurt please don’t- oh.”
Because the captain was actually patting him on the head. “Don’t get the wrong idea,” he said. “You nearly died. Don’t do that again. Where’s Owen?”
“He, uh, he left. Dunno where, I was sleeping.”
“…he’s talking to the Wizard King, I believe,” Yuno said. Yami turned around and left, leaving the brothers in silence.
“Don’ worry, tha’s jus’ how the Cap’in shows affection,” Vanessa slurred from where she was laying.
“He.. wasn’t that aggressive before, though,” Asta replied.
“Don’ worry, he just wan’s to murder the people who did this to you,” Vanessa giggled.
Yuno looked mildly disturbed, but simply shrugged and returned to his book.
~♣️~
Back at the base, the research was not going too well. Gordon, for all of his knowledge on topics like poison and other strange things, only had the same amount of information on the topic of hex magic as Owen did. Yami had arrived and told them about what Vanessa knew on the topic, and the group had thrown themselves at researching it even more fervently than before. Then Noelle and Finral arrived looking no worse for wear (except for Finral’s arm) and Yami had left in a hurry.
So now here they were, digging through the library. For the fourth time that day.
“Jeez, we just need to look elsewhere,” Gauche grumbled, Grey nodding her head in agreement. “We’ve tried our best here and there’s nothing.”
“But we have to help our best friend…” Gordon mumbled. “Maybe my family has more information on this? I could go ask them.”
“I-I-I can come j-join you!” Grey stuttered.
“That’s a great idea, Gordon and Grey. Maybe Noelle and I could go to the library in our base? I’m pretty sure no one’s checked that yet,” Finral suggested.
“I’m coming with you! I can’t stand this dusty old place anymore,” Gauche declared, a bit rudely.
“Yeah, yeah,” Finral said, opening up a portal. It was smaller than usual, and a bit unstable at the edges, but it was better than nothing. “Come on, now.”
The three walked into the base’s library, and promptly began their search. But even after a long hour, their search proved to be useless.
“We’ll get nowhere at this rate!” Noelle complained. “Besides, I’m getting all covered in dust and filth. A royal like me shouldn’t be like this!”
It was true. Somehow, out of the three, Noelle had managed to get the most covered in dust anyone had ever seen her.
“Y-you can go take a break! I c-can keep searching here,” Grey said. Finral nodded in agreement.
“Okay, I’ll see you guys in a bit.” She started walking out of the room, only pausing to place her hand on a bookshelf to steady herself as she sneezed. The force of it rocked the bookshelf, and some books came tumbling down. Finral looked up at the noise.
“Rats!” She growled, before turning around to pick them up. As she slotted the books away, one specific cover caught her attention. Noelle pulled it out, and glanced at the cover. Unfortunately, it was too worn down and dust covered to make anything out. Curious, she opened the book, flipped through some random pages… and gasped.
“I found something!” She exclaimed, rushing over to the table and slamming the book down on it. Grey squeaked in alarm, glancing up from the book she was currently skimming through. Noelle flipped to a specific page, pointing at a paragraph. “Here!”
Finral and Grey crowded around the book, reading what it said.
“
Hex magic can be particularly nasty to deal with, once inflicted upon the victim. A case study some twenty years ago revealed that there is indeed an antidote, however, it may not work as efficiently on specific spells cast by the hex mage…”
“Skip forward a bit,” Finral suggested, so Noelle flipped forward a few more pages.
“…The antidote is known to take the course of one day to heal regular hex spells. Two days if it was inflicted upon a devil, demon, witch, or other species. Three days if it was a sacrificial or incredibly powerful spell. And four days if the sacrificial spell was cast upon anyone other than human…”
Noelle skimmed through the book some more until she found a section labeled “
The Antidote.
” It read:
“Hex magic is one of the few arcane stage magics with an actual antidote. Because it was so incredibly powerful, doctors across many towns and realms raced to create an antidote one could use if struck by this magic.
As panicked as all doctors were about this, they found that the antidote was very simple to create. It is as follows:
-you will need
demonsbane flowers
-pick as many flowers as needed (a guide on these flowers is shown on the next page)
-dry the flower’s petals in the sun. This usually takes around
one day
-grind the petals into a fine powder and mix in water
And the antidote is ready.”
Noelle flipped to the next page.
“
Demonsbane Flowers: A Guide
These flowers get their name because they were first found growing around the huge skull of the demon the first Wizard King defeated. No one understands how the flowers gained the property of fighting off this specific magic, but they were still harvested for their use. These flowers have not been found elsewhere in our time searching.
Here is a small guide on how many flowers you need to harvest to use in an antidote:
-For a
low level spell
against a
human
, you will need
two flowers
-For a
low level spell
against a
different species
, you will need
four flowers
-For a
high level spell
against a
human
, you will need
six flowers
-For a
high level spell
against a
different species
, you will need
eight flowers
”
“Ah! That’s it, that’s everything we need!” Noelle said, excited. “Finral, open up a portal to Gordon’s family and Gauche so we can tell them to call off the search. Then portal us to the capital!”
“Okay!” He responded.
After hearing the news, Gordon decided to join them. Gauche said that he would stay back, and so after a quick portal to the base to explain to Charmy, they were off.
They surprised everyone with their less than stellar tumble into the room. “Grey? Finral? Oh, and Noelle and Gordon too~! Welcome back guys!” Vanessa said from her spot on the floor. She hadn’t moved the entire time, still obviously drunk as hell.
Yuno jolted awake, not even realizing he had fallen asleep. “Whaddya want?” he grumbled, pushing his hair from his face.
“We found information and an antidote for the hex magic! “ Noelle cried out.
“Eh? Wait, come again?” Vanessa asked, not looking the slightest bit drunk.
“Wait, were you faking being drunk this entire time?” Yuno asked, but he was ignored.
“Where are the Captain and Doctor Owen at? We need them in here so we can explain it all at once,” Finral explained.
Yuno and Vanessa shrugged. From his bed, Asta let out a comically loud snore, and everyone turned to look at him.
“We should wake him up too.”
~♣️~
Once the appropriate people had been gathered (plus Mimosa and Klaus), Finral and Noelle stood up to present their information. They talked through the information they had found, and then handed off the book for Doctor Owen to inspect. Gordon leaned over to add a few of his own thoughts, and the two started up their own discussion about the flower.
“I knew it!!” Asta yelled, stars sparkling in his eyes. “I can always count on you guys!!! You’re the best!”
“Shut up, moron! It’s what anyone would do,” Noelle huffed.
“Hey,” Yuno said. “The part about the demon skull… Hage Village has a huge skull in the distance. Remember that, Asta?”
“I was thinking the same thing!!” Asta exclaimed.
“No, seriously, shut up,” Yami muttered. “You’re too much, sometimes. Bring it down.”
“Yes sir! So when do we set out to get these flowers?”
“Soon, preferably,” Owen said. “Gordon knows what these flowers look like exactly, so I recommend he be on the team.”
“Finral, Noelle, you’re also on the team.” Yami instructed. “The three of you leave in the morning.”
“Yes sir!”
“But Captain Yami!” Asta butted in, “If it’s in Hage Village, surely I can go as well?”
“No.”
“Pleaaaaseeee?”
“Actually, Asta,” Owen said, “I recommend remaining strictly on bed rest. We don’t know if your condition can change right now, but I will permit you to return to your base and have an hour of physical exercise a day.”
“Heck yeah!” Asta cheered, leaping out of his bed. He still hurt all over, the waves of pain never truly gone, but he didn’t let his discomfort show.
“Glad that’s settled then!” Mimosa said. “If you need anything, Klaus, Yuno, and I will be in the Golden Dawn. Bye now!”
The three Golden Dawn members left, and Finral sparked up a wobbly portal to bring the Black Bulls home.
The next morning, at the nice and lazy time of 10 pm, Gordon, Finral, and Noelle set out to Hage village. “We’ll be back soon! Give us an hour or two,” Finral called as he left. His and Asta’s arms were both completely healed thanks to Owen’s magic right before they left for home, so Finral’s portal making abilities were back to normal.
Asta decided to spend the time they were gone to train. He couldn’t get too far, though, because he kept freezing and doubling over when the waves of pain spiked and he struggled to breathe.
True to their word, the three returned back to the base a little over an hour later. Gordon was carrying a small glass box, and the flowers could be seen inside.
“You did it!” Asta cheered through poorly hidden harsh pants.
“You sure look like crap,” Noelle commented with a swish of her hair. “You shouldn’t push yourself to train, so go clean yourself up and rest.”
Asta listened for once, instead of arguing. He followed them inside, where Gordon split off to head over to the kitchen.
“Charmy, I’m going to put these flowers we got to help heal Asta in your garden so they can dry,” he mumbled. “Is that okay?”
“Yes it is, la!” Charmy responded without taking her eyes off of her cooking. “Are they tasty?”
“We only have enough for Asta,” Gordon said.
“Ah, that’s okay, I can find out another time. I’ll set them outside, la?”
Gordon handed the small box over without complaint.
~♣️~
The rest of the day passed without any action (other than the usual chaos). Charmy had a very productive day in terms of cooking, but then again, what day
wasn’t
a good day for cooking? She hummed to herself happily, heading out to check on her garden before the sun truly set.
I hope all of you grow up well!
She thought to herself.
I can’t wait to eat all of you! I bet all of you fruits and veggies will be so tasty!!
Charmy knew she didn’t have to check up on her garden in the evenings every day, but the truth was that she liked the moments of peace it brought her. Sure, she loved the Black Bulls to death, but even then, they could be a bit overwhelming at times. And she had found the perfect solution: a small stroll through her garden. A moment to herself, in
her
environment, was perfect.
She passed through the tomato patch, her footsteps sinking into the soft ground underneath. She glanced at the tomatoes on the other side of her little path-
There. Some of the plants were crushed, but it wasn’t too far in - only a few plants were crushed at the edge, but the shape they were destroyed in were unmistakably in the shape of a footprint. And the strangest thing was that they seemed to just
stop
in the middle.
There was something else others didn’t know about her, and that was the fact that she loved her garden to death as well. It was a piece of her, and her hard work - so when someone decided to
oh so obviously
trample over it, she took it personally.
She knew the Black Bulls wouldn’t dare do this. So the question was,
“Who
dares
to walk over my precious plants?”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The wind whistled by, whipping up the plants and causing a rustle to echo through the trees..
Charmy scanned the ground again, but only saw the imprints retreating. So she had scared the person off, but for how long? With magic like theirs, they could sneak by at any time, especially if the intruder was the one with the troublesome haze magic.
Charmy quickly checked up on the rest of her plants, cast a small protective spell over the flower petals that had been set out to dry, and then hurried back inside. She made her way over to the common room, unfazed by the chaos.
“La!” She yelled. “Everyone listen up!”
Magna and Luck kept fighting, but everyone else’s attention was on her, including Yami. She exhaled.
Good
.
“There’s an intruder-“
“A WHAT?” Luck said, breaking away from his fight. “Can I fight them? Are they stron-“
“Luck shut
up,
let her talk,” Magna hissed. He batted another fireball at Luck before closing his grimoire to listen.
“Yes, anyway. He’s very sneaky, and yes, this is likely the same mage that escaped in the first ambush. His magic was what, Haze Magic? I noticed because
someone was stepping on my tomatoes
.”
Everyone took a collective step back from Charmy as she struggled to keep her mana from exploding.
No one
messed with her garden and expected to leave without paying the price.
“Alright, that means we need to prepare a bit. Assume he brought more people with him, and that they’re hidden as well. Gordon, Grey, Gauche, you’re gonna defend the inside of the base with Vanessa. Asta, Noelle, Charmy, you’re another team. Asta, I’m assuming they’re after you again, so don’t be reckless. Everyone else, feel free to either stick together or monitor by yourselves. You guys should be able to hold your own or escape.”
“Yes sir!” Everyone chorused back, and left to form their designated sub teams.
Charmy beckoned Noelle and Asta over, not missing the anxious gleam in their eyes. “We’re going to stick on defense mostly, okay?” Charmy says, and the two younger members nod in agreement. When they get outside, they immediately lose sight of each other - a thick fog has been laid to rest all around the base, it seems.
Asta brings out his swords, and starts hacking away at the mist hanging in the air. The strategy works, but it’s not very efficient - the fog only rushes back in faster than he can hack away at it.
“Save your energy, you idiot,” Noelle scolds Asta. “You’re just going to wear yourself out faster by doing that.”
Asta must have reached the same conclusion, because he stops without much of a fight. He keeps his grip on the swords.
“Stay near me,” Charmy instructed as they kept moving.
It wasn’t long until the first sounds of battle echoed through the evening.
~♣️~
Luck cheered wildly as he shot off some spells at the intruders. The three mages scattered, diving out of the way to avoid the strikes of lightning. Magna and Finral had decided to go off as a pair, and Luck had immediately run off to find the strongest mage. Which was… surprisingly difficult, given his high mana sensing abilities. It was probably the result of whatever weird fog they had placed around the Black Bull’s base.
Either way, the fight quickly proved itself to be an incredibly disappointing one. Luck thought that if they had the capabilities to hide their mana
this
well, maybe the mages in their group would be a fun fight.
But no,
he sighed to himself.
What a drag. Guess I’ll end this fight now.
Luck created some ropes out of mana to bind his opponents, and quickly ran over to them when they lowered their guard. He was able to tie all three intruders up, but not before one blew…
something
at him. The last ditch effort turned out to be a dart, a thin black thing with two red stripes near the tip. He pocketed the thing for later.
The fight lasted barely even three minutes, and by the time Finral poked his head through one of his portals to check out the noise, Luck was already dragging the captured back to the base.
“Oi!” Finral yelled at Luck. “What are you doing?”
“Bringing these three to the base,” Luck replied with his usual cheery smile. He lifted one of the bound men for emphasis.
“…okay. Oh, and did any of them happen to shoot a dart at you?”
Luck paused, then fished the dart back out of his pocket. “Yeah,” he said, lifting it up. “Did you and Magna get ambushed? Did you fight someone
strong
?”
“No, just one guy. He shot two darts at us, heard your lightning in the distance, and ran.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll keep going now, try and capture that man, alright?”
“Yeah, alright,” Finral replied, sounding hesitant. “I’ll go inform the others.” He said, then disappeared back into his portal. It closed behind him.
Luck kept moving. Something about this whole situation seemed… a bit off. As if someone had picked up his bed and moved it a couple centimeters to the left. It was barely noticeable, but still there.
What a weird analogy. I should go find someone else to fight instead of sit here and think.
~♣️~
In the distance, Charmy heard the final rumbles of explosions. They hadn’t lasted long, either. It was probably Luck, knowing him.
Their little group kept moving forward, unsure of what they were looking for. Noelle and Charmy’s mana senses were very dulled, to the point where there was no reason to even try and sense each other's mana in the area.
Until Asta's head snapped up. The fog could hide mana well, but it couldn’t hide the intruder’s Ki. There was only one spell that the haze mage had that could do that, and it had evidently been taken down.
“Over there,” Asta hissed, pointing into the fog. Noelle and Charmy immediately started scanning the vicinity. He started hacking away at the fog again, and soon enough they could see the trees Asta was pointing at.
“What’s our plan?” Noelle whispered to the others.
“Don’t die,” Asta replied.
“Ha ha, very funny. Charmy?”
“Keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior, and take no risks, got it?” Charmy said.
“Yep, okay,” Noelle said.
“Oh,” Charmy added. “Don’t die.”
“
Not right now, Charmy,”
Noelle hissed back. Charmy chuckled a bit.
Something whizzed by their ears.
“DUCK!” Asta yelled, but he was a bit too late. The group turned to frantically defending themselves, but black and red blurs darted past it. They whizzed by the spells and swords set up to block them, some getting knocked aside by a well timed water spell here, or caught in cotton magic there. Neither had enough time to put up a full defensive barrier. However, most of the barrage was swept aside by the sword.
How many of these things did they have?
A nick of a sleeve here. A last minute duck or dodge there. One plunging into Asta’s neck-
Oh
shit, Charmy thought in the same instant Noelle screamed in terror.
“ASTA!” She shrieked, and Charmy’s blood ran cold. Asta’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed, lying motionless.
A mage ran forward, his hood falling off. Noelle gasped in recognition, and the man dove for Asta. Noelle fought him off.
You could step on Charmy’s garden, and you wouldn’t leave without a ripped limb or two. But those who tried to hurt her comrades, her
friends
?
They earned themselves a death sentence.
Charmy was done, and her mana
exploded
.
The cotton magic expanded across the ground, tendrils rushing towards the hidden mages. It was like it had a mind of its own, a presence strong enough to chase off the fog.
The tendrils of cotton magic latched onto the mage fighting Noelle, raised him in the air, and
slammed
him down on the ground. He went limp.
The same treatment was given to the two other mages hiding in the fog, who were now exposed. A flare went off in the distance.
Damn, one must’ve gotten away. That has to be a signal for the others to leave
.
Around the corner, Luck appeared, followed closely by a portal opening. Finral, Magna, and Yami leaped out of it.
“Explain,” Yami said, death rolling off of his tongue as he laid eyes on the scene in front of him.
“Get Asta to Gordon first, he was hit by one of these darts,” Noelle says, holding up the projectiles. She looked dead calm, not a single ripple breaking the surface. “I think they were poisoned, and he’s not responding to anything.”
Finral immediately opened up a portal to the base, and everyone leapt through it, with Noelle carrying Asta (again). Charmy also brought the three captured mages through, making sure they were bound and out cold before joining the rest of the Bulls. She took note of three other intruders, who were already bound and gagged by lightning, before marching off.
Gordon was already down on his knees at the nearest table, inspecting the darts and muttering to himself. One was broken, its liquid spilling everywhere.
Everyone else was screaming bloody murder, Gauche and Grey included. Yami, looking pissed off as hell, yelled “Shut UP!” and everyone went silent.
“Gordon?” He prompted.
“Best I can make out with what I have now is that two poisons were enhanced by magic and combined to be in this dart,” he muttered. “The first one is a simple agent to knock someone out. It’s not harmful, but the second one is meant to kill. And with the magical enhancement, I don’t know what could’ve changed. Owen can probably help delay the effects of the poison, but can’t cure it completely. I can do that. I just need time.”
“Okay, then, gear up everyone. You have two minutes. Luck and Charmy, bring the intruders along. Try not to kill them, we can access their memories for information. Finral, teleport us to Owen’s then head off to Gordon’s home. Come back once you have the cure.”
Everyone hurried off to get their necessary supplies, and soon they were waving goodbye to Gordon and Finral at the Capital.
Owen was luckily already at his spot in his office, and wasn’t surprised when the Bulls stormed in. Yami only lingered around for long enough to see Asta taken care of, then took Charmy, Luck, and the intruders and went off to find Marc and Julius.
Julius was in his office, glancing up when his door slammed against the wall. He looked like he was 14 years old again, which was the impact the battle with the elves had on him.
“New developments,” Yami said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. “Is Marx around?”
“He should be,” Julius said, unfazed. “What happened?”
Yami gestured at Charmy and Luck, who were standing behind him. They stepped up and explained the attack from their respective perspectives, and Julius nodded along with a furrowed brow.
Once they had finished, Julius called Marx and had them prepare the dungeon.
“We’ll look into their memories, see what else they might have planned,” Marx explained. “And why they were after Asta specifically.”
Which is where they were 10 minutes later. Yami, Luck, Charmy, Julius, and Marx were standing in the underground dungeon with the six prisoners under Marx’s spell.
“From the beginning please,” Julius said, and Marx complied. He pulled up the haze mage’s memories from the day before Asta, Noelle, and Finral were attacked.
A ruined village, the scene blurred by tears. Mass graves, with few left to mourn those who were gone. Not much time had passed since the attack of the Midnight Sun and the mess it had created, and everyone was still feeling the damage from it.
Especially this town.
The giant, floating rock that had been lurking near the forest close to the village had flown over their town, destroying
everything.
And no one had arrived to help them.
Hands reach up to rub at his eyes, and his sight returns to normal. It’s his younger sister.
“Brother… I think I know who caused this. I was out in the forest, gathering supplies… I saw an ash blonde haired boy collaborating with one of
them.
Who were with the strange boulder in the sky. My sources tell me that his name is Asta, and he’s a devil working with the Black Bulls magic knights squad. It seems that no one knows of his betrayal… so we should get revenge with our own hands, yes?”
“Sara…” the man said. He looked into her eyes, only to be met with a strange determination to get revenge.
The same rage burned within him. “Who do we talk to though? The two of us, alone… we won’t be able to get anything done by ourselves.”
“Remember Nico, who lived on the very edge of the town? He survived… and his magic? It’s the legendary Hex Magic.” Sara said, looking smug.
The man gasped, jerking back slightly. “If we have him on our side, we can convince
everyone
left in the town as well. You know how well loved he is, they’ll listen to him!”
“Exactly.”
Marx skipped forward a bit.
The sun was nearly at its zenith, and a hand raised to knock at the door in front of it. This house was one of the few that had survived the attack, so a handful of others were also living here.
Nico answered the door, his eyes widening when he saw the man and his sister. “Seb? Sara? What are you doing here? I thought you were treating the wounded!”
The haze mage, Seb, responded, “Not anymore. Sara ran out of mana, but no one is going to die anytime soon.” His tone darkened. “Not anymore, at least.”
The three were silent. Nico cleared his throat and asked, “So why are you guys here?”
Sara explained her idea, and Nico was nodding along more and more as she explained herself. By the end, Nico was all in.
“I just have to convince the others, right?” he asked, and Sed nodded. “Alright. I can do that, just give me until sunset.”
Another skip.
Nico, Seb, and Sara stood on a small hill, looming over the 18 people gathered there. The time seemed to be at around midnight, and everyone was cheering wildly.
“Down with the traitor!”
“We will have our revenge!”
“Filthy trash, thinking they can get away with anything!”
Nico raised one hand, and everyone immediately calmed down.
“My friends, we are gathered here today to execute the plan the two behind me masterfully crafted up. Tomorrow, Asta will arrive here in this village to ‘chase off the wild boars that attacked our village.’ Gavin here can give us the whole story on how he fooled the magic knights captain.”
The man in question, Gavin, was the old geezer from the pub that Yami lost to. He smiled, and launched into a very exaggerated story of the captain and Finral. Once he was done, Nico took the stage again.
“Tomorrow, we launch our strike. Who’s with me?”
The small crowd roared, “WE ARE!”
“WHO’S WITH ME?”
“
WE ARE!
”
“Then listen closely!” Nico turned and pointed out 7 people from the group. “You all are with Nico and I tomorrow. We will win!”
Everyone applauded wildly. Once everyone but the 7 who were chosen left, Seb began explaining the mission.
“My sister, Sara, will use her nature magic to drive the nearby boars into a frenzy. Once Asta has beaten those, we attack. Otherwise my haze magic will hide all traces of our presence from them. When I undo my spell, everyone should be in position near any extra magic knights that tag along in this mission.
“Our primary goal is to let Nico fire off a powerful spell at Asta, one that should kill him. And you all
must
remember this next part: if you get caught, you’re as good as dead. Sara?”
Sara stepped up. “I’ve created these magically manipulated poisons that can deliver a quick and efficient death, but they only work against those with low magic. If you get caught, and are left unattended for even
one second,
use this. We cannot let ourselves get captured by the enemy. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.” The response was hesitant, quiet. Seb smiled reassuringly at them.
“If all goes according to our plan, we won’t even have to use these,” he said. “They’re just a precaution.”
With that, the meeting finished, and everyone headed off to their respective homes.
Another time skip, this time to the moments before Asta was hit by Nico’s magic.
“Nico!” Seb hissed with a strained voice. “What are you
doing?
”
“I… I have to use
that
spell… you know the one. It’s the only way,” he muttered.
“No it’s not! Nico, this isn’t worth giving up your life for! We still need you!” Seb cried.
“And tell me, what did you say to the seven who got caught? They’re dead now, thanks to
you.
You said everything would be fine, go according to plan.” Nico replied, his voice cold and dead. “This is also partially my fault, so I should go make up for it, right?”
“At least… at least let me help you.”
“…okay. You go surprise him, wound him or something, I don’t care. Once he’s distracted, I’ll get him. It’ll be the last thing I do - besides, I have nothing left in this world anyway.”
Another skip.
Seb was sobbing into the arms of his sister, having just informed the broken village of the events that had happened. Everyone left had now lost their faith in him, and left to return back to their homes. Except for eight of them, who had stayed back. For what reason, Seb did not know.
Cautiously, the first of them approached. “We… wanted to see if you were willing to listen to a plan of ours? I know things have gone badly, but if it means getting revenge, then the eight of us here can help you. Besides, we have nothing left to live for.”
Their words were so eerily similar to Nico’s that it only made him sob harder. “D-don’t do it. You’ll find something else to live for… this was such a foolish plan.”
Seb tore himself out of his sister’s grip, anger blossoming up within him. “Why, Sara, did you think this was a good idea?”
Sara looked at her older brother with poorly hidden pity. “Do you not trust me, Brother? I had a backup plan, in case this first one failed. That boy will not be allowed to get away… we will make him suffer-“
“Wait.” Seb interrupted. “Didn’t you mention… This boy is a devil, right?”
“Yes, I did. So what of it?”
“Nico used his ultimate spell, rumored to be able to kill devils. Which means…”
“The boy is dead?” Sara sounded amused. “Of course not. Those around him will find a way to save him, and there is indeed an antidote out there. I do not believe he will die from this hex. So we must finish him off ourselves. Nico’s sacrifice will not be in vain.”
Seb found himself nodding, realizing his sister's words were right. The eight others present also seemed to be agreeing.
“So… would you like to see my plan B?”
The small group trekked over into the forest nearby, stopping near a particularly large tree. Sara ripped away at the vines covering it, revealing… crates?
“What?” Seb voices, his confusion growing.
Sara grabs one of the crates, lifting it out of the tree and onto the lush forest floor. She removes the top to reveal hundreds of little darts, black with two red stripes near the tip of the needle.
“You- how did you get these!?” Seb gasped. “And what is in them?”
Sara giggled. It was slightly unhinged. “This is just a side project, you see. It’s been going for a few weeks now. I got them as gifts from the forest. And as for what’s in them? It’s a deadly poison enhanced by my magic, combined with a simple sleeping drug. It takes three hours to kill, though. I’ve been trying to cut the time down.”
“Gifts from the forest…? Why have you been making these?”
“Hah, no real reason. But it’s good we have them now, right?”
“I mean… yeah, I guess.”
“Perfect!” Sara clapped her hands, a happy grin spreading across her face. “When do we head out?”
And the rest was history. Charmy heaved a silent but heavy sigh.
The entire situation was a goddamn misunderstanding. Not that the villagers knew that, but it had still caused this entire situation to spiral. She cast a glance over where everyone else was standing.
The Wizard King looked troubled, an expression that didn’t match with his aged down face. Marx looked downright shocked, like he never expected something like this to happen. Luck was too hard to read, and Yami looked ready to smash the entire castle down to fine dust.
“This entire thing,” he said. “Was a fucking
misunderstanding?
And what, that poison is gonna kill one of
my
squad in less than three hours?” Yami started raising a fist to smash the wall, right before a portal opened and Finral tumbled out.
“Gordon’s got it! He made the cure!” Finral gasped, opening another portal and frantically waving his arms at it.
Without a second thought, Yami jumped through the portal, and everyone followed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
45 minutes earlier:
Gordon and Finral leaped out of the spatial magic portal. Gordon immediately ran inside his house, muttering greetings to his family that were too quiet, even for him. He didn’t wait for Finral, who stumbled upon contact with the earth. Nothing else but research mattered to Gordon right now. Because the second poison that was in the dart should’ve instantly killed whoever it was injected in. But for some reason, it was off. And it hadn’t killed his friend yet. Which is why he would do everything in his power to save Asta. His family members came to check up on him, and so did Finral, but he brushed them all off. He searched, and he searched, and he didn’t stop. When he figured out the poison used, he threw himself at the task of finding a cure. A harrowing 45 minutes later, he threw his chair back, running out the door. “Portal to Owen, now ,” he snapped, louder than usual. Finral raised his hands to create the portal, and they jumped through it together. Finral didn’t stop there - he made another portal, and a few seconds later, everyone in the dungeon jumped into the room. The already crowded room nearly burst at the amount of people in it, and Julius quickly gained order in the room as Gordon talked to Owen. “I have the cure here,” Gordon mumbles. Owen nods, his magic waving in the air next to him. “Explain everything about the poison to us,” Julius says. Gordon glances over at Yami, who had just finished herding most of the squad to either the back of the room, or outside of it. Marx was with them. Yami lit another cigarette, unfazed by Owen’s glare. “Long story short, they used a plant native to their area, altered it with plant magic so that it would prolong the suffering one felt once poisoned, and combined it with a sleeping drug. I created a cure for it, but it won’t get rid of all the symptoms. Asta will probably have to trust his immune system to get rid of any lingering sickness it causes. But he’ll stay asleep for the next few hours,” Gordon explained. He handed the little syringe over to Owen, who inspected it. “Sounds good to me,” he said, moving over to Asta’s bedside. He injected the syringe into Asta’s arm as his magic faded away. “Now, we just wait for him to wake up.” ~♣️~ A gasp, green eyes flying open, and Asta bolted upright. He slapped a hand to his neck, surprised when he felt nothing there. Wasn’t I hit by an arrow or something…? How am I alive? “Because the poison takes a while to kill. Also it was a dart, not an arrow. You’d actually be dead then,” a familiar voice responded. Asta turned around, eyes widening again when they landed on Liebe. “Hey, it’s you again! And you’re smaller than before!”Liebe grunted. “Yeah, cause that hex magic is still eating me up from the inside.” He gestured at the vines of red light that covered him still. However, they seemed more dim and weak. “I know you’ll forget our conversation later, but try to not forget the fact that you’re still dying. Get that antidote as fast as you can when you wake up.”“You got it!! And wait, why will I forget this conversation later? When I woke up previously, I couldn’t remember who you were…”“Honestly? I dunno. But then again, you are being hit by a bunch of different things at once. You’ve nearly died twice now, so I wouldn’t put it past that.”“Oh.” Asta sat down on the edge of the shadowy cliff, swinging his legs over the side. He looked down, and the abyss gazed back at him. Various different thoughts ran through his head, but he didn’t voice any of them out loud. Liebe joined Asta on the cliff’s edge.“Say, is it always this noisy in your head? It’s like you won’t shut up, but it’s in your head , you know?” “I dunno,” Asta laughed. “It’s just always been like this. Can’t seem to switch off my thoughts, but it does help in battle. Keeps me aware of everything.”“You’re smarter than the others give you credit for,” Liebe responded. Asta hummed, and the two sat there in silence - save for the murmur of Asta’s thoughts in the background. Wind blew through the clearing, the leaves on the trees rustling along with it. Grass tickled Asta’s hands. Wait, grass? Asta yelps and leaps to his feet. Because sure enough, there’s grass everywhere now . “How the hell?” he shouts. Liebe turns around, not looking ruffled in the slightest. His tail flicks. “Like I said. This place is weird, nothing like my mindscape. I just get pulled here if you’re here too.” The trees, which also hadn’t been there before, have gained a strange shape. Almost like color started seeping into the world. Everything around Asta is made up of various shades of gray, except for the abyss. Asta looks questioningly at the demon, who didn’t look back. Shrugging, Asta walked back to join Liebe. Time passed, the two brothers relaxing. Color eventually started blooming throughout the small world. Liebe plucked up a handful of grass, and let it scatter into the abyss below them. “I might not know anything about this place, but I think this is a sign for you to wake up now,” Liebe says, standing up. He holds out a hand for Asta to grab, and Asta takes it. “If all goes well, I should see you within the next few months,” Liebe says. “I’m not gonna ask how you know that. Anyway. See you soon,” Asta responds with a soft smile. He steps off the cliff, plunging into the darkness below.The tiny flowers peeking out of the grass go unnoticed by all except one. A clawed hand picks at a red poppy, and the world becomes empty once more. ~♣️~ Asta wakes up. He grumbles, refusing to open his eyes. He reaches out with his arms, feeling the area around him, and his right arm runs a very soft wall. Can’t go that way , he thinks, and rolls over onto his left side. He rolls off of whatever he was laying on. With a soft thump , he lands on the ground, grunting at the impact. It sends dull waves of pain throughout his body. He tries getting out of his blanket, but to no avail, because… oh. Someone’s burritoed him. Oh well. Someone else must have been awake, because soon the place was filled with yelling. “He’s awake again!”“Can someone grab the medicine?”“I’ll make some food, la!”“W-wait! Don’t f-forget the antidote!”“I’ll make that quickly, don’t worry.”Asta, feeling far too tired to deal with this shit, simply snuggled deeper into the blankets wrapped around him. Someone started shaking his shoulder. “Asta, come on, buddy, at least take this medicine. It’ll help you feel better,” a voice said. Magna, his brain supplies. Grudgingly, Asta peeked out over the top of the blankets. He was met with the worried faces of his squad. Gordon and Charmy seemed to be in the kitchen, both making something. Grey was hovering around them. Vanessa, clearly still drunk, was sitting half awake on the couch. Yami was on the other end of said couch, looking at Asta. Noelle, Magna, and Finral are crowded around him, various forms of concern flitting across their faces. Luck and Gauche were nowhere to be seen. Asta got up, accepting the pill and the glass of water Magna handed him. Now that he was a bit more awake, he noticed how downright shitty he felt. His throat felt sore, his nose was running, and he could feel a headache coming on. He took the pill and downed the glass of water in one gulp. Clearing his throat, he asked, “What happened?” “You got poisoned, kid. Had us all worried, but Gordon saved you from dying.” Yami said, exhaling. “You’ll be sick for a bit though.”“Whoa, really?” Asta’s voice cracked on the second word, and he winced uncomfortably. “Ahem. Thanks, Gordon!” “It’s no problem. Anything for my friend,” Gordon mumbled back. He walked over to Asta’s side, handing him another glass. “This is the antidote to the hex magic, please drink it. It should take effect and help over the course of the next day.”“Thanks again!!” Asta yelled, eyes sparkling, though it wasn’t nearly as loud as before. He downed it in one gulp as well. He placed the cup on the ground next to him, stuffed his arms back into his new burrito home, and closed his eyes. “…er, wait,” Finral said. “Aren’t you gonna go to sleep in your room?”“Mmmrghhh,” Asta grumbled. “Too tired.” He coughed lightly. And yelped as he fell through the floor. The portal dumped him back on the couch he was laying on previously, blankets and all. “Finral, dammit!” He yelled indignantly, glaring at the senior magic knight. Finral merely chuckled, and the tension in the room dissolved. Asta hadn’t even noticed it.“Wait,” Asta asked. “What’s the time?”“Around early morning, 7 am, I think.” Noelle responded. “Good. More time to sleep,” Asta said. He made himself comfortable on the couch again, and tucked his head into the blanket. “Wake me up never.”Vanessa giggles. “Good idea he’s got there,” she said. “I’m sleeping too. Goodnight.”She fell asleep within seconds. “She’s gonna have such a bad hangover when she wakes up,” Magna commented, and Finral nodded in sympathy. “Should we be concerned about the fact that Asta never wants to wake up?” Noelle questions. “Nah, let him sleep.”Asta dozed off to the sounds of his squad chatting and bickering. It wasn’t long until he was woken up again. This time, it was to three new faces peering down at him. Yuno, Klaus, Mimosa. Yuno was the one shaking his shoulder, urging him to get up. “Nnn, what time is it now?” Asta grumbled. “Eight forty, why?” Yuno responded. “Too early.” Asta replied, dragging his arms out of the cocoon to pull a pillow close to him. “Nuh-uh, no you don’t.” And the pillow was grabbed away. Asta whined. “Yuuunooo. I want the pillow back.” “No. Get up and eat, I know what you’re like when you’re sick.”“I brought some treats from the bakery near the Golden Dawn’s base!” Mimosa said brightly, holding up a brown paper bag. Asta half recoiled from the bag like it had personally offended him. “No thanks,” he managed, stomach rolling dangerously at the thought of eating anything sweet. Magna appeared out of nowhere and nabbed the bag. “Thanks!” He yelled before running to a cackling Luck. The two ran off with their new prize. “…what,” Klaus said. “It’s okay, la,” Charmy said, sidling up to the group. “Here, take this, it should be good for you.” Charmy thrust a bowl at Asta. It was a salad. “Thanks,” he said, crawling out of his blanket. He could manage a salad for now. “And of course, a cupcake for my prince, la.”“…thank you.” Charmy walked away, her mission accomplished. Mimosa and Klaus were still staring off in the direction of Magna and Luck. Yuno quickly ate the cupcake he was given, and glared at Asta to start his salad. Asta, upon seeing the look on his rival’s face, started stuffing forkfuls of food into his mouth. Yuno nodded in approval. “I'll stay with you until you are better,” he said. Asta choked on the next bite, thumping his chest to clear it up. “I can take care of myself just fine!” He yelled. “Yeah, right. What about the time when you had an ear infection?” Yuno said, smirking a bit. “I was dealing with that fine.”“You started crying when it got to the point where you couldn’t hear as well.”“Did not!”“And the time you dislocated your wrist.”“That event never happened. Never .”“Okay, then what about the time you had the stomach bug that was going around?”“I- I can’t even say anything to that.” Asta huffed angrily. “Fine, you win.”Klaus and Mimosa had been watching the verbal sparring match like it was an actual fight. “So, then, I’m assuming our services here will no longer be required?” Klaus asked. “Yeah, sure, you can go home. We Black Bulls can take care of one of our own,” Vanessa said. All the heads in the room whipped around to look at her. “What?” She asked, taken aback by the quick response. “I… thought you were sleeping? And weren’t you dead drunk?” Asta questioned. “Yeah!” Vanessa beamed. Yuno leaned over to whisper in Asta’s ear. “She can fake being drunk. I don’t know how, or why, but she can do it. Never gave me a straight answer when I asked.”“We’ll take our leave, then,” Klaus said. Mimosa nodded. “It was nice seeing you guys again,” she said. “Contact us if you need anything!” The two Golden Dawn members left. Asta finished his salad, and set his bowl on the table in front of him. He decided to take off the blankets as well, considering how badly he was sweating. “I’m going back to sleep,” he announced, flopping back onto the couch. “Nope,” Yuno said. “We’re going to your room first, so lead the way.” Asta grumbled some more, but eventually got up. “Come on.”The two walked down the winding halls in silence. Yuno, standing next to Asta, opened his mouth to say something. Asta looked up at him as they turned the corner. Whatever Yuno was going to say was replaced with some surprise, and a cry of “look out!” But it was too late. Asta ran into the pole jutting up from the ground. He fell back, head spinning. “Dammit, Henry, not now! I thought the base hadn’t changed much!” The pole in front of the brothers moved into the ground. Henry’s way of apologizing. “It’s okay, Henry,” Asta sighed, patting the wall. “I should pay more attention to where I’m going.” Asta heaved himself to his feet, stumbling forward and almost faceplanting. A pair of strong hands grabbed him before he could bash his nose in again. Yuno. Asta leaned heavily on his friend, feeling lightheaded. He closed his dues, exhaling heavily. “S-sorry,” Asta apologized nervously. “It’s alright, it’s just…” a hand pressed against his forehead, and Asta leaned into the cool touch. “Oh shit, you’re actually burning up. You have a fever. Come on, now, let’s get you back to your room, yeah?” “…yeah,” Asta mumbled back. “Next two rights, then a left, and my room should be there.”“Okay.” Yuno shifted, and suddenly Asta was being lifted into the air. “Hah!?” Asta cried out, eyes opening in surprise. He was now being carried by Yuno, bridal style. “Quiet down. I’m taking you to your room,” Yuno explained, starting to walk forward. “I can walk by myself!” “Can you really?” Yuno raised an eyebrow at him. Asta grumbled, closing his eyes once more. He let his head fall limp against Yuno’s chest. The duo arrived in front of Asta’s room, and Yuno gently nudged the door open with his foot. He deposited Asta on his bed, firmly tucking him in under the blankets. “Stay here, okay? I’m gonna go grab some things real quick,” Yuno said, his voice soft. Asta, whose face was beginning to flush from the fever, only nodded a bit. “Close the curtains?” He asked. “Sure.” Yuno tugged the curtains closed, and then left to gather some things. Yuno returned a few minutes later, though it felt like an eternity to Asta. Feeling overheated, Asta had kicked off the blanket on top of him. He was half asleep by the time Yuno returned. A hand shook his shoulder again. Grumpily, Asta opened his eyes to see the blurred form of Yuno above him. “Stop waking me uppp,” he huffed, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. “You have to take this medicine, then you can sleep all you want,” Yuno said. Asta peered at Yuno’s hand, and yep - the same pill he had taken earlier was sitting there. “Already took that. Now lemme sleep.”“You did? Who gave it to you, and when?”“Magna, at around 7 am.”Soft scribbling filled the space around them. “I’ll be back at 1, alright? You need to keep taking this medicine every 6 hours,” Yuno said. “Sure, sure. Goodnight now.”A chuckle. “Goodnight.”Asta let himself fall asleep again. ~♣️~ Finral was walking around in the afternoon, with nothing to do. He had joined Magna and Luck’s usual sparring sessions, talked with Vanessa and Charmy about various things going on in the kingdom, relaxed with Grey and Gordon, and a number of other things as well. He has also seen Yuno make an appearance, going around the base to gather various things. He then disappeared back the way he had come. The next time Yuno came down, it was at 12:45. Charmy had been making lunch for the squad, and Yuno was no exception to this. She forced a very heavily loaded tray into his arms, and walked away. Yuno only looked a little bit confused, before shrugging lightly and walking away. Very carefully. He was even using his wind magic to keep some of the things balanced on the tray. Finral grabbed another tray and walked up to Yuno. “Hey,” he said. “Here, let me help you out a bit.”Yuno obliged, lowering his tray a bit and using his magic to move some of the items onto Finral’s tray. “I can open up a portal to Asta’s room,” Finral offered. Yuno nodded gratefully. “I’ve been walking around everywhere , and this base is pretty confusing.” Yuno confessed. Finral smiled, opening up a portal. “Actually, our base changes around every so often.” The two walked through the portal, and Finral was about to start explaining more about their base - when they were interrupted by retching noises. “Asta?” Yuno frowned. He set the tray down and ran to the bathroom. Finral quickly followed. There, they found Asta bent over the toilet - and still retching. Hard . It sounded really bad, even to Finral, who winced in sympathy. Yuno dropped down next to Asta, placing a comforting hand on his back. “Yuno?” he groaned. “‘S that you?” “Yes, I’m here.” “Where are we? This isn’t the church.”Oh, so he was delirious. He must have a really bad fever, then. “We’re at the Black Bulls base, in the bathroom near your room. A lot has happened over the past few days, and you ended up getting sick because of it. I’m here to take care of you.”“Huh…” Asta looked up. His eyes were very unfocused, looking glassy. Just how bad was his fever? “Is… he gonna be okay, or…?” Finral asked hesitantly. “Yeah, don’t worry. Whenever he got sick back at the church, he would get really sick for about two days before being perfectly fine on the third.” Yuno said, gathering Asta up in his arms. “Even then, he usually never got delirious like this.”They walked back to Asta’s room. Finral grabbed the bottle of medicine, a glass of water, and a wet cloth upon Yuno’s urging. He gave the medicine to Asta, placed the wet cloth on Asta’s forehead, and sat back down. Yuno scribbled something down in the notebook next to him. Finral peeked at it to see what it said.
- Got sick at around 7 am. Give medicine every 6 hours
- Gave the first pill at 7 am (Magna) - Second pill at 1 pm (Yuno & Finral) “Why’re you recording all of this?” Finral questioned, confused by the list. Yuno glanced over at him, setting the notebook aside. “It’s what the others, mainly Sister Lily, did back at the church. Also, if the dumbass doesn’t take his medicine on time, he’ll get even more sick.” “Oh.” Finral got up. “I’ll go for now. You should eat, by the way.”“I will.”“I’ll be back in around two hours. If you need anything else, just call me, okay?” “Sure.”Finral smiled and portaled out of the room. ~♣️~ When Asta awoke again, it was to see Yuno sound asleep on the ground next to him. His head was leaning on the frame of the bed, his knees drawn up to his chest. A glance at the clock told him it was a quarter to three pm. Asta hopped off of his bed, already feeling a lot better. He grabbed the blanket and pillows, and positioned them so that Yuno was comfortable. Asta then got down as well, and leaned on Yuno. That feels better , he thought. It didn’t take too long for him to fall back asleep. And if he noticed Finral walk in on them, give them more pillows, chuckle, and leave, well. No one had to know.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It's been a year and a half since I've written this, and not finishing this fic has been haunting me, so I've decided to just. Completely rewrite the fic lmaoI'm super sorry to anyone who was waiting for a conclusion in that time!! And I hate leaving things like this unfinished, so.I'll post a link to the new fic once I've finished the rewrite! Thank you guys <3