《Reborn In Black Clover With Demon Slaying Magic》 Chapter 1 - Vacation day "Same deal as last time?" "Pretty much." *Sigh* "What''s it gonna be this time? An apocalypse? A dystonia? An underwater kingdom?" "Actually, me and the other Gods have been talking lately and we''ve decided to give you a little vacation." "Seriously?" "Yeah, for your next reincarnation, you can choose where you want to go and a couple of wishes to go along with it." "Sweet!" ''Took you fu?kers long enough. 16 reincarnations and only now am I getting a vacation.'' "So where''s my vacation gonna be?" "Your choice." God shrugged. "Wow, you guys are being real generous today aren''t ya." "Just hurry up and pick, I got my own shit to deal with." Smiling at the annoyed look on God''s face, the reincarnated soul took a minute to think about his decision. ''Hmm... My last life was pretty fun, definitely want to go to a world with magic... but on the other hand my 8th life showed me just how fun messing with advanced technology can be.'' While the soul thought about where he wanted to spend his new life, memories of his previous lives flooded his head. After dying on his homeworld in the past, he was given the opportunity by the gods to reincarnate and travel the multiverse while completing a couple of odd jobs for them. Of course there was a catch to all of this, whenever he reincarnated he''d lose the previous memories of his past lives and would basically be a new person. Of course he''d regain these memories again once he died and returned to the realm of the Gods. In all of his lives he''s played various roles, in one life he was a powerful cultivator that shook the world with his mere presence, in another he was an archmage that sealed a dimensional portal before otherworldly monsters could attack his realm, and in another he was a demon king that brought fear and terror to those around him... That last life was his favorite. Of course there were some worlds where he couldn''t become anything special. Like reincarnation number 12, he was born to an average middle class family on a planet called Earth, spent his time doing what normal earthlings did, got a job, got married, had kids then died. Not especially fun, but he had to admit that earthlings had found ways to entertain themselves that other realms lacked. One example of this was anime and manga. While the reincarnator enjoyed the woes of battle and the crushing of his enemies, since he couldn''t really do that in this world, anime and manga become his own personal escapism paradise. And now that he had a chance at a vacation, he definitely wanted to go to one of those anime worlds that reincarnation number 12 always dreamed of. "Okay, I''ve decided." --- "You really want to spend your vacation there?" The God looked up with an unsure expression. "Yup!" *Sigh* "Whatever, lets get this over with shall we. Your chosen world will be the Black Clover universe and you want to be born at the same time as some guy called Asta right?" I nodded. From what I could remember from reincarnation #12, black clover was a really enjoyable series with an interesting world, power system and characters. Plus it had a society that revered the strong and talented, it was basically the best place to crush the arrogant! Ah, what I''d do to get my blood pumping like it did back in reincarnation #14... They were the days. Seeing that I was agreeing, the God continued going down the list of my requests. "You also want to be born in a different area away from this Hage village place and you want to have an Elven bloodline so that you will be loved by mana... Am I right so far?" "Yep." If I remember correctly, the elves had rather large mana pools in comparison to humans, being descended from one is sure to give me a few long term perks. While I was lost in thought, God continued reading off the list while making a disappointed face. *Sigh* "And for your chosen magic you''ve decided to store all the breath and sword styles from an anime called Demon Slayer into your grimoire just waiting for them to be unlocked?" "Don''t forget that I want to add magical effects onto the sword styles so they look as impressive as they do in the anime." Rolling his eyes at me, God went back to reading the list. "And for your last request, you''ve asked to have the appearance of some guy called Reinhard from Re:zero... I''m probably gonna regret asking this but, why do you want to look like him?" I shrugged. "Black clover looks like its set in a European medieval time period, Reinhard''s looks will let me blend in easily." "Any other reason?" "The man''s plot armour incarnate and looks good no matter what he''s doing... I also want to look good no matter what I''m doing." "How superficial." The God muttered. "Oh please." I retorted. "Humans are superficial as fu?k. Try living in a world full of humans as an ugly person, the amount of hate and disdainful looks you get is unreal. Plus, this is supposed to be my vacation right? Isn''t it up to on how I want to enjoy it?" "Yeah yeah, Now that the request have been made and approved, I''m required to tell you that your memories will be wiped and you''ll be starting all ove- "I actually have another request." I interrupted. "Eh?" "Don''t look at me like that, its the last one, I promise." *Sigh* "Speak." "I want to keep my core memories." "Core memories?" "Yeah, y''know, the ones where I know I''m a reincarnator and shit. It''d also be nice if you could make it so that I grow up with a pretty similar personality to the one I currently have. It''d be really annoying if my personality up and changed and I lost the will to go fight strong people. It''d kinda make my vacation a waste." God paused for a minute before looking up at me. "You want to keep your original personality?" "Yeah." The God then made a difficult face. "...Are you sure about that?" ''Why''s he asking me like that?'' "Is there a problem with my personality?" "...Its just... There''s a reason we wiped your memories in particular compared to our other reincarnators..." "Oh... I thought every reincarnator was treated the same." "No." The God shook his head. "Most of them retain their memories when they reincarnate into a new world." "Then why don''t I?" "Because your personality is problematic. If it wasn''t for our ability to wipe your mind every time you reincarnate, we wouldn''t have chosen you as one of our agents." Feeling slightly annoyed, I did my best to smile. "And what actions have I done to warrant such treatment?" "You burnt an entire continent to the ground in your first life." "We were at war." I refuted in a just voice. "A war that you started." "Oh fu?k you, those humans deserved it!" "For what!? If you didn''t fu?k the Queen and Princess in front of the king then none of this would have happened!" "Its not my fault that someone spread a rumor that ingesting the seed of a dragonkin would grant eternal youth!" "YOU SPREAD THE FUCKING RUMOR!!" "I WAS FUCKING HORNY! And I didn''t think they''d take it seriously!" "WELL THEY DID! Y''know what, I''m done with your shit, next time you reincarnate you''ll be dealing with some other God." "Dude you''re killing my vibe." "Fuck off!" And with those gracious words, I was reincarnated into the Black Clover universe. Chapter 2 - Reincarnation 17 So it turns out that God majorly fu?k?d up when he sent me here. Mistake number 1, that fu?ker didn''t give me Reinhard''s appearance like he promised! No, he gave me generic black hair like a fu?k?n? pleb and made my eyes yellow. Not that my appearance was bad or anything, but it wasn''t what I asked for. I''m half tempted to kill myself just so I can go back to the God realm and slap the shit out of that petty ?sshole. Mistake number 2, I''m pretty sure that prick reincarnated me into the territory of the Witches Forest! Now you''re probably wondering how I know all this right? Well that brings me to mistake number 3. Mistake number 3, that ?ss clown fu?k?d up my memories! Instead of getting all my core memories, I got fragments of memories of my 12th life (Earth). Most of them were useless and the ones that weren''t useless we''re too blurry to be useful. So while I remember somethings about this world like my current location, things like the main character''s name and face elude me. I might as well have been walking in blind. But the good news about this was that I remembered some key things about this world. Like the fact that by the time I turn 15, I need to go to a grimoire tower in order to attend the grimoire acceptance ceremony. But first, I need to get out of this forest alive... Hopefully without running into any witches... Oh! That brings me to mistake number 4, instead of reincarnating me into the world like usual, that small d??ked loser reincarnated me into the body of a 10 year old and left a message in my head telling me that the main story will start in 5 years. Then he started laughing about the fact that I had less time to train and become overpowered. If you know me well, you''ll know that I tend to go a little crazy when it comes to training. I believe the people of earth called it over-leveling. I like to be strong to the point that I don''t have to worry about dying or receiving damage. But 5 years was to short of a time for me to completely curbstomp the people of this world. Plus, with the current state of my body, I''d need three years just to get it into a state that I''d deem acceptable for normal training, not to mention that I also need to train my battle instincts to adapt to this new body. *Sigh* "I better get started." --- -3 years later- Surrounded by trees on all sides, the sound of nature rang through the endless forest as the sight of a young b?r? ?h?sted black haired boy sitting cross legged could be seen by the surrounding birds. Breathing in a very peculiar rhythm, a soft grey like glow manifested itself around the boy''s body and clung to him as if it was part of him. Breathing softly, the boy slowly opened his yellow and let the grey glow on his body dissipate into nothing. ''I guess that''s breath of the beast down.'' After training none stop in the forest fore the past 3 years, the serial reincarnator found that like everyone without a grimoire, he was able to use the mana in his body to use low level magic. Like Yuno who could make small gales, the reincarnator was able to utilize a swordless version of breath of the beast. And while he couldn''t do anything special with it like cut trees with his b?r? hands, he found that utilizing this breathing technique increased his body''s physical ability like reinforcement magic and also made him incredibly flexible. Due to my location and current circumstance, Breath of the Beast made the most sense to learn. While breath of the wind or even breath of thunder would have been convenient, both breath styles wouldn''t enhance my perception and sensory abilities like Breath of the Beast did. Thanks to this style, I''ve avoided being eaten by various different predators within the past 3 years. After finishing my 5 hour long breathing practice, I picked up a self made gourd bottle and took a swig of water. "Ah." Now that my body had reached an acceptable level of fitness, it was time for me to start making my way to the Clover Kingdom. And while I didn''t have all my memories, something inside of me was telling me to avoid going to the Witches Forest at all cost. Packing my stuff up in a handmade backpack, I tied the gourd to my waist and headed north. Having gotten a handle on the Breath of the Beast breathing technique, the next logical step was to achieve Full focus breathing, a state in which I subconsciously use the breathing style. And thanks to my Elven bloodline and large mana pool, maintaining this state even when I''m asleep shouldn''t be too much of a hassle. Moving through the forest with purpose and confidence, I looked forward to the journey ahead. I might be weak right now, but when I get my hands on my grimoire, I''ll make sure to have as much fun as I can while cutting down those that stand in my way. Whistling to myself, it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn''t even given myself a name. ''Looks like I was too focused on training.'' Looking down at my slim but toned arms, I can''t help but nod at my body''s current state. Realizing that I was losing track on my previous train of thought, I quickly snapped out of it and tried to focus on giving myself a name. Looking at the dark forest around me, I couldn''t help but think about how gloomy this place was. "How grim." I muttered. "Grim... Grim?.. GRIM!!" That was it! The perfect name for me! While I may not remember what my original name was or what my name on earth was, doesn''t the name Grim sound way cooler than anything I would usually come up with! Okay, its decided, from now on, I shall be known as Grim!.. Yeah... Grim... Chapter 3 - Church "Oi Grim, if you don''t leave now we''ll have to give it to them for free!" A loud voice yelled. 2 years had passed since Grim had left the comfort of the forest, and now he was working at a decent restaurant as their delivery guy. Of course it wasn''t easy getting this job. Arriving in a town that he had little to no knowledge of with nothing but the clothes on his back and gourd by his side, he was shown just how cruel this world really was when you didn''t have money. But after saving some old guy from a bunch of random bandits, the guy offered him a job in his restaurant and gave him the room above rent free. Residence and a stable income? Of course he took the offer! He''d be an idiot if I didn''t. But what the manager of the restaurant didn''t know was that Grim had originally planned to rob him and beating up those bandits was just an easier way to loot the cash off them while they couldn''t fight back. If it wasn''t for him leaving him for last instead of knocking him out, who knows where he''d be at the moment. "Oi! Are you listening!" A teenage girl with long wavy red hair and navy blue eyes stepped out of the restaurant to chastise him. "I''m on a break Rebecca, go annoy someone else." He shooed her away. Hearing me shoo her away, a vein popped out onto her forehead before she made a dark smile. "You''re gonna have to cut your break short, we got a delivery request." This ray of sunshine barking at him like a dog is a fellow coworker of his, Rebecca Scarlet. A 16 year old waitress that has to work in order to support her smaller siblings. Beautiful, smart, driven, she was the definition of a strong independent woman... At least that''s what he thought the people of earth called people like her. But that''s besides the point, you see, when he first arrived here he actually had no skills that could be employed in a restaurant. So he just helped around wherever he could and received his pay. This made Rebecca resentful of him because he was apparently taking advantage of the boss''s good will. Of course her words meant nothing to him, Grim was a man with memories of the 21st century, he was for all intense and purposes, numb to the sound of female complaints. Plus he was naturally lazy by nature, if fighting, sleeping, or training wasn''t involved, then the amount of fu?ks he could give about anything were practically non existent. But then he messed up. One night when he was training his agility and flexibility with Breath of the Beast, Rebecca happened to see and came up with this great idea of starting a delivery service... I want you guys to hear that again. We''re in a time period that resembles medieval Europe, and this bitch just came up with the idea of a fu?k?n? home delivery service! She even crafted a table on how much profit we would gain and handed it off to the boss. After hearing her proposition, the boss literally begged Grim day and night to take up the job, apparently the movements he employed when taking out the bandits were enough to make him think that Grim was the most suitable for this job. And he couldn''t say no to him when he gave him those puppy dog eyes. So yeah, now he''s a delivery man. Grim and Rebecca eventually came to a truce where we would stay out of the other''s way and do what''s best for the restaurant. And although they both had different reasons to protect it (He literally lives above it) they both agreed that it''d be in everyone''s best interest if this place kept running. So here he is, one week away from the grimoire acceptance ceremony about to deliver a huge pot of soup to a small orphanage. --- Watching the soft grey aura cling to his body, Rebecca handed him the soup pot with a smug smile on her face. "Y''know, you''re a real bitch right." Ignoring his comment, she pulled out a small notebook and told him how much money he should receive from the delivery. Rolling his eyes, he used his enhanced physical ability to jump onto the roof and leapt from building to building while hugging the pot to his ?h?st. --- "Yo Marie." Dropping down in front of a church, he called out to a small blonde haired girl who was playing with a couple of other kids. "GRIM!!" She and the other kids ran towards him with smiles on their faces. "Whaddya get for us this time!?" A small boy asked while looking at the pot. "Soup, where''s sister Theresa?" "She''s inside." Nodding his head, he left the kids with some kind words and approached the church. Y''know what was really weird, I was in another world yet they still had churchs. I''m pretty sure that some of my other incarnations saw church''s in other worlds, but what was really weird was that the design was no different to the ones I remembered from Earth. "Grim." A woman called out to me while he was lost in his own thoughts. Looking up from the ground, standing in front of the altar was a white haired elderly woman with a jagged scar running down from her forehead to her left cheek. "Theresa." He greeted. Smiling at the way he said her name, she came down from the alter and greeted him. After the first couple of deliveries to the church, the two of them eventually got to know each other and formed a cordial relationship built on respect. For Grim, it was learning that she used to be a magic knight for the Crimson Lions, for her it was learning that he had no parents and basically grew up without relying on anyone. "How much?" She took the pot from his hands. "You know how the boss is. Everything that comes to the church is free." Of course Rebecca didn''t know that. *Sigh* "I really can''t change his mind can I?" She smiled. "So... the grimoire acceptance ceremony is coming up soon, are you excited?" After working for the boss for the past two years, Sister Theresa had come to understand how much he enjoyed the adrenaline rush from combat. And since she had no way to pay the boss back, she became his combat instructor as compensation. But after practicing with her for 2 years he quickly understood that without any spells he was severely limited in what he could do. And what made it even worse was that she kept using long ranged fire attacks to keep him from getting close to her and slapping the smug smile off her face. The only thing he really learnt from all of this was how to sense mana better and improve his dodging ability. But now that the grimoire acceptance ceremony was only a week away, he could b?r?ly contain his excitement at the prospects of actually learning new spells that could make up for what he lacked. But to answer Theresa question, he simply responded with a "hmm..." Chapter 4 - Grimoire Walking back into the restaurant after leaving the church, the sight of a small red haired boy sitting around one of the tables eating porridge entered Grim''s sight. "Yo Marco." Grim called out. Marco was one of Rebecca''s younger siblings, he was quite a shy boy and no where near as annoying as his older sister. "Hey Grim." He smiled a waved. "Where''s your sister?" "She said she had to go get some supplies." "Oh? I guess that means its just you and me little man." "Mmm." He nodded and focused back on his porridge while I went behind the bar and poured himself a drink. --- -1 week later- "Are you ready?" A white haired old man looked over Grim with appreciation in his eyes. "Why ask? He''s spent so much time relaxing that he should have enough energy to last a life time." Rebecca spoke up much to Grim''s annoyance. "Sis!" Marco wh?n?d. "What? Its not like what I said wasn''t true." Holding back his urge to show that he was an advocate for gender equality, Grim merely smiled and said his goodbyes. After spending the past 3 years training with Theresa, he was already prepared for the entrance ceremony. And while he may not have much memories of what happened in the manga, he knew for sure that this moment would define his role in life, He just hoped that God didn''t screw him and give him something like a one leaf clover... Knowing that fu?ker, Grim could actually see this happening. --- ''Finally here.'' Standing inside a huge library like setting, Grim was surrounded by a large amount of young people who were in the same age group as him. A lot of them were like him, curious with a hint of anticipation on their faces. Others looked scared and shook with worry. And then there were the ones that took a knee and started praying. ''If only they knew that God wouldn''t answer their prayers. I wonder how they''d react?'' Now that he thought about it, he wondered why they had to get their grimoires when they turned 15. Was it some rule of this world? But if so, what was so special about being 15? While he was thinking about this, he didn''t notice that somebody had appeared in front of the grimoire-less teenagers. The guy then proceeded to spout some bullshit about how special grimoires were and how they should strive to better this kingdom. "Now then, let the Grimoire acceptance ceremony begin!" Once the man stopped speaking, the books on the shelves started to shake and radiate different colors as they took to the air before finding their way to their respective owners. Feeling his attention being drawn elsewhere, Grim turned around and saw a 3 leafed grey grimoire surrounded by soft white light floating in front of him at ?h?st level. ''Is-is this my grimoire?'' --- "So how''d it go?!" The boss appeared in front of him as soon he stepped through the restaurant door. Hearing the noise, Marco and Rebecca also came over. Instead of answering the manager, Grim merely smiled and summoned his grimoire. "Ahahahaha, you succeeded!!" The boss cheered. "Congratulations Grim." Marco added. And he could have sworn that he saw Rebecca smile for a minute there. "So? What spells do you have?" "Watch this." Focusing his attention on his grimoire, he felt the mana in his body gather around his hands as two serrated blades materialized in his hands. Watching with amazement, the three onlookers felt their eyes widen as the looked closer at the jagged swords in his hands. "S-Swords! Why the hell do you have swords! I thought your magic was body enhancement!" Rebecca suddenly exploded with questions. "Just because I can enhance my physical ability, it doesn''t mean its my magic." Grim said with a smug look on his face. "Y-You!" "So cool!" Marco''s eyes basically shone as he looked at the swords that were radiating grey light. Grinning at their reactions, Grim let the swords dissipate into nothingness and de-summoned his grimoire. "EH!!" "Sorry, but I''ve gotta go train." Leaving them with a look of surprise on their faces, he left them to their own devices and closed the door behind him. --- "Okay you old bitch! Lets do this!!" "Grim?" Seeing the black haired boy kick open the church''s front door, Marie and the other kids looked at him with surprise. "Oh? Hey guys, where''s sister Theresa? She got a date with destiny." He grinned wildly. "She''s planting some flowers." "Thanks!" And just as he appeared, he disappeared just as fast. --- "Someone''s happy." Crouched down with her back turned to him, Theresa smiled as she covered a seed with fresh soil. "Cut the crap! You know why I''m here." "Of course I do, you''re here for another beating." "Not today." "We''ll see." --- Unable to hold his smile back, Grim''s body was covered by a soft gray glow as he charged towards the flames while his swords materialized in his hands. Using his now enhanced body to jump over the stream of fire, he leapt high into the air and came crashing down towards the old nun. Seeing this, Theresa smirked thinking that he was too hasty in his reaction. Now that he was in the air, he had no way to dodge. Lifting her arm up higher, she released another stream of fire at the airborn Grim. Watching the torrent of flames approaching him, the smile on Grim''s face grew wider as he activated a spell. [Second Fang: Rip and Tear] Performing a diagonal X slash with both blades, Theresa and the spectating children watched in shock as Grim''s blades seemingly tore the torrent of spiral flames apart. "WOAH!!" The kids exclaimed in shock. Dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed, Theresa quickly snapped out of her stupor and quickly casted a spell called Shining Flame Cross. Using multiple small explosions that took on the shape of a cross, Theresa erected a flame shield to protect herself seconds before Grim''s blade reached her. ''Oh shit.'' "DETONATE!" Theresa looked up at him through the gaps of her shield and yelled. *BOOM!!* Flung backwards as a result of the shockwave, Grim''s body smashed heavily into the ground as steam escaped from his smoking body. Luckily for him, Breath of the beast allowed him to take the brunt of that attack without suffering any real damage. "Hahahahahahaha." He laughed loudly as he lay flat on his back. "I finally got close to you!" Chapter 5 - 6 months After his defeat at the hands of Theresa, Grim understood that he had been to hasty in his thinking. Instead of charging in to battle the old hag after just receiving his grimoire, he should have gotten more acquainted with his swords and new spells before crushing her. This way he would have had more tricks up his sleeves during their battle. Sitting on his bed above the restaurant, he looked over the spells in his grimoire and started studying up on them. The magic knight entrance exam was in 6 months, that meant that he had 6 months to get his magic combat ready. "Okay, lets start." After spending a couple of hours looking over the spells in his grimoire, he discovered that a new spell had appeared. ''What the hell?'' [Breath of flames- Ninth Form: Rengoku] ''Where did this come from? Did this spell manifest after I got hit by Theresa''s fire spell?'' Confused by what he was seeing, he focused his attention on the spell and felt the mana in his body gather around his right hand. And just like with his Breath of the beast swords, a katana slowly formed in his hand. But unlike his Breath of the beast swords, he was only wielding one sword at the moment. And to push itself even further away from his Breath of the beast swords, this katana had a flame shaped handguard with a red core and golden border. Covered with a soft orange glow, Grim felt the blade hum in his hand. Closing his eyes, he felt a gentle warmth spread from the hilt of the blade and into his body making him feel extremely relaxed. "6 months..." He muttered. --- Leaving the town of Nairn behind, Grim left the confines of the kingdom''s safety to go train. While staying in Nairn would have been nice, it was not the most suitable place to practice fire based spells. Plus, he felt that the Rebecca and the boss would distract him if he stayed. He also thought about training with Theresa, but he didn''t want to face her again until he felt like he could crush her. Taking nothing but a backpacked filled with food, water and extra clothes with him, Grim left for the next 6 months. --- -3 months later- "300...301...302...303...304...305...FUCK!" Shouting loudly, Grim was forced to stop doing push ups as he could b?r?ly feel his arms. He''d been in this world for 5 years and 2 months now, and still this use body was giving him problems. He cursed that petty God for reincarnating him with a below average body. Getting up from the rocky ground, he went to washing his sweat away a nearby lake that was surrounded by rocky terrain. Within the past 3 months here, he''d deepened his knowledge of Breath of the Beast and Breath of Flames. For Breath of the Beast, he discovered that besides being in that heightened state, the true benefit to using it was that besides the fact that his fighting style became much more barbaric and brutal, his swords could actually rip anything it came into contact with into shreds. This included magic. Breath of Flames on the hand was quite different in comparison. One of the first things he quickly discovered about using this breath style was that his physical ability returned to normal unlike Breath of the Beast. So to compensate for this, he had to learn reinforcement magic. And while the physical enhancement wasn''t as good as when he used Breath of the Beast, it was at least passable. But what really made him like this breath style, was the fact that it didn''t matter whether or not he was using a spell or not, just a swing from his sword would produce flames. "Hmm?" Feeling a mana signature approaching him, Grim activated Breath of Flames and summoned out his katana. *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* Feeling the ground start to shake, he looked in the direction that the mana signature was coming from. Walking over with giant steps, a large amalgamation of rock with a humanoid shape approached the half dressed Grim. ''A magical lifeform...'' After having trained here for the past couple of months, he had already run into his fair share of earth elemental beings. At first they were quite a hassle to deal with, but to the current him they were not much of a threat. While some of their strengths differed from one another, they were practically all the same in Grim''s eyes. Holding the sword up in a high stance, a torrent of flames emanated off the red blade as he performed a devastating downward slash that fired a concentrated beam of flames towards magical lifeform. Leaving behind a trail of flames and a deep impression in the ground. Grim watched as the beam of flames shot through the air and pierced the ?h?st of its target and destroyed its core. Not even having the chance to scream, the lifeform crumbled to the ground after turning in a smoldering mess of rocks. Watching the outcome of his work first hand, Grim couldn''t help but smirk and compliment himself. "A bit wide, but not bad." Turning his back on the smoking rock corpse, he submerged himself back inside the lake and let the water run over his body. Rinsing off all the sweat and grime that he had accumulated, he floated on the surface of the water and looked up at the sky. "3 months..." Compared to when he had first arrived here, he was definitely much stronger and could utilize his power to a better degree. Closing his eyes, he simulated his last fight with Theresa but used the current him to replace his past self. "Hmm..." He hummed. Using the swordless version of breath of flames, a soft orange glow surrounded Grim''s body and warmed the lake around him. Chapter 6 - The return "Whew, that was tiring." Finishing his last set of exercises, Grim took a dip in the lake before packing his bag and prepared to leave. The past 6 months he had spent here had taken quite a toll on him. After having gotten used to sleeping in a bed for the past 2 years, it was much harder to return to his rustic life than he had previously ?ssumed. But that lifestyle ended today! Now that those grueling 6 months had ended, he could finally return back to civilization and attend the magic knight entrance exam! Looking back at the lake surrounded by rocky terrain, a feeling of sentimentality struck. Fortunately it didn''t last long and Grim quickly left the area. --- "Its gone." Standing at the place that Grim had previously been at, a young looking man with a red tattoo on his left cheek and patches of white in his black hair looked around the lake as if searching for something for something. "Are you sure you felt a magic signature? The place seems kind of barren." Standing next to the young man was s?xy looking blonde haired woman in an all black hat and furry skirt. *Yawn* "I might have been wrong." The young man yawned and opened a portal behind him. "Why didn''t you tell me that before I was forced to tag along!" *Shrugs* "I thought it''d be funnier if you had to miss your hair appointment." "YOU!!" "I''m gonna leave you if you don''t hurry up." He turned towards the portal and began walking. "Tch, damn you Rhya." --- "Why are you back?" Was the first words that came out of Rebecca''s mouth when she saw Grim walk through the doors. "Y''know what Rebecca? I''ve had enough of your shit. I get that we''re not friends and that your period seems to come about every other day, but you need to chill the fu?k out!" Recalling some phrases from his jumbled earth memories, Grim started going on a rant that no one really understood. "At the end of the day you''re just another basic bitch that doesn''t understand just how average she really is. Are you cute? Sure. Are you fu?kable? HELL YEAH YOU ARE! But besides that you don''t really have anything going for you. If it wasn''t for our boss''s gentle heart you''d probably be working on some random street corner trying to provide for your siblings. And that''s another thing. How many fu?k?n? kids did your parents have! I know we don''t have ??nd?ms in this world but fu?k me! Haven''t they heard of the pull out method!? In fact its weirder that we don''t have any magic to avoid this. Like you''d think there''d be an abortion spell or some shit but-" He started trailing off topic and left Rebecca, her siblings, the boss and the rest of the people in the restaurant stunned. "And that''s why we should name the first tank engine Thomas." He nodded proudly not noticing the expressions on everyone''s faces. "Anyway, that''s all I wanted to say. I''m going to go prepare for the exam tomorrow so goodnight all. Oh! And fu?k you Rebecca." He showed his middle finger before going upstairs. "....I think he likes you." One of Rebecca''s little siblings commented. --- -The Next Day- Leaving early in the morning, Grim left a note to the boss thanking him for everything he''d done for him for the past 3 years. He also left one for Rebecca reminding her of just how much of a bitch she was. He felt really refreshed after that and left with his head held high. "So this is where the future magic knights start their careers..." He muttered after arriving at the testing site that oddly enough resembled a Colosseum from earth. ''Weird.'' "WHAT''S WITH THESE DAMN BIRDS!!" A loud scream drew everyone''s attention. "Hmm?" Turning to look at the origin of the screaming voice, Grim was quite surprised to see a gray haired boy being attack by a bunch of birds. "GET THEM OFF ME!!" Standing a bit away from the boy was an amber eyed boy with messy black hair. Looking at the two of them, Grim couldn''t help but frown as he felt a weird sense of familiarity from them. But before he could ponder on it any further, a rich looking fat guy and his entourage barged his shoulder and pushed him to the side. "So then I invited her to dance with me at the royal ball." The fat man laughed and played with his mustache not even noticing what he had just done. "Wow!" "As expected of our lord." "Haha, even Miss Mimosa couldn''t resist your charms." "Of course she couldn''t! What woman in their right mind could resist our lord?" Listening to the praises he was receiving, the fat man couldn''t help but laugh loudly as a disgusting smile etched itself onto his face. In truth, the only reason Mimosa had agreed to dance with him was because she didn''t have the heart to reject him after he stopped the music to ask her to dance. Unfortunately his praises were cut short by the next sentence. "Oi piggy, its common courtesy to apologize when you bump into someone." While Grim was confronting the fat noble man, the gray haired was busy dealing with his own problem. After running around trying to get the anti-birds off him, he accidentally ran into muscular black haired man smoking a cigarette. "Ah! There you are Yami." A man with dirty blonde hair called out to the black haired smoker. "Hey, isn''t that the spacial magician Finral Roulacase?" A member of the crowd spoke in a hushed voice. "Yeah, and isn''t that guy besides him Gordon Agrippa?" They motioned to an emo looking guy wearing black lipstick. "Wait." They all looked back at the black haired smoker. "Doesn''t that mean that that''s the captain of the Black Bulls: Yami Sukehiro?" Chapter 7 - Magic Knight exam "Did this low born ant just address me?" The fat noble turned to look at a member of his entourage. "I... Well..." If this had been a normal setting, the fat noble''s henchmen would have already have immediately started attacking the black haired boy that had just insulted his lord. But this was the magic knight entrance exam. If he started a fight here who knows what consequences he would face. Luckily for him he was saved by the bell as the announcer suddenly called for everyone''s attention. "Sorry for the wait everybody." Walking out from the background, 7 individuals walked out and drew the attention of everyone in the area. "ITS THE MAGIC KNIGHT CAPTAINS!!" "I CAN''T BELIEVE I''M SEEING THEM FROM SO CLOSE!!" "I CAN DIE HAPPY!" ''Magic knight captains huh?'' Looking up at the 7 figures, Grim felt his blood start to boil as his urge to fight slowly increased. ''The strongest mages in the Clover Kingdom...'' Doing everything in his power to hold himself back, Grim looked up at the figures and burned their features into his memory. While Grim was busy holding himself back from attacking the captains, one of the captains wearing a weird mask with several feathers sticking out from it took center stage. "OH MY GOD ITS WILLIAM VENGEANCE!!" "He was the one who took the head of the enemy general in the last battle!" "Its said that he''s the closest to becoming the next Wizard King!" "I heard his squad members love him!" "Ah, I''d love to be selected for the Golden Dawn!" "Don''t be stupid! Only elites and nobles are selected for that squad." Hearing all the hype around him, Grim took a closer look at the masked man. Opening his Grimoire, William executed a spell that caused branches to spawn and deliver wooden broomsticks to the examinees. "Now then, lets us begin the Magic Knight Test." Hearing him, the fat noble turned to face Grim before walking away. "Hmph, I''ll deal with you later peasant." Normally Grim would hold his tongue and quietly bide his time, but after getting his grimoire and training for six months, he was feeling quite fearless. "Wow, its surprising that you haven''t choked on all the shit that comes out of your mouth." Grim''s words caused the noble to stumble and almost fall flat on his face. "Y-YOU!!" "Oh? Ugly and illiterate, us commoners truly can''t compare to such a pig faced individual such as yourself. I bow to you sir." "You can''t m''lord!" One of his lackey''s stopped him before he could proceed. "If you attack now you''ll be disqualified." "He''s right, we should on getting into the Golden Dawn and then we''ll deal with this insolent brat!" Another one of his lackey''s threw Grim a dirty look before trying to calm their boss down. "Hmph! You''re right, there''ll be plenty of time to deal with this trash after we join the Golden Dawn." The fat noble said before leaving the area with his entourage in tow. "Heh, nobles seem like fun." Grim laughed before also leaving. --- Standing in line with a bunch of other test takers, they were told that the first test consisted of them being able to make the brooms that they were given fly. "Anyone who can control their magic should be able to do this on feel alone." William explained. "This is the most basic form of movement magic there is. If you can''t fly on a broom, you''re not worth looking at." ''How simple.'' Closing his eyes, Grim poured a portion of his mana inside the broom and commanded it to float. "Hey, isn''t that the guy with the four leaf clover?" One of the examinees commented after seeing Yuno standing on his broom with ease. "Hmm?" Everyone looked over at him. "To think a bumpkin like him could receive a four leaf clover..." "Wait! Look at that guy!!" One of the examinees pointed at Grim who was doing a hand stand on his broom. "What the hell!" "Such control!" While this was going on, the gray haired Asta struggled to even lift the broom off the ground and even drew the attention of captain Fuegoleon with his pitiful display. "How strange... No matter how low his magic aptitude may be, he should at the very least cause some reaction from the broom." --- After a series of tests, Captain Vengeance finally declared what the final test would be. "Ahem. Before we start, I would like to thank you all for attending the Magic Knight entrance exam. For the future of the Clover Kingdom, I hope that you will go all out during this final test and prove to us that you are worthy of becoming a magic knight." He smiled and looked over the participants. "As for what your final test will be, it will be a test of all your magical and intellectual ability through the use of combat. You are allowed to pair up with anyone you want, just show us why you we should choose you to join our squad." ''Pair up?'' Looking over at the fat noble, a wicked smile emerged on Grim''s face. "Oi piggy, if you keep standing around like that you''ll never lose any weight." "You again!!" "Heyo." Grim grinned and walked over. --- After applying his charm, the fat bodied noble couldn''t take it anymore and challenged Grim to a duel. "Damn peasant, I''ll show you the difference between a noble and a dirty street rat." "Looking forward to it." At this point Grim couldn''t hide his smile any longer. --- "Now then, you may begin." Captain Vengeance''s voice rung out and begun the first match. "Hahahaha, no holding back! Lets do this ASTA!!" The blonde haired man shouted before activating his magic. [Bronze creation magic: Magnum Cannonball] Patches of transparent blue light surrounded the blonde haired boy as it slowly came together to form a spherical armour that had several protruding cannons coming out of it. --- Watching the fight from the upper levels with the rest of the captains, Finral couldn''t help but compliment Sekke on his magic. "That''s pretty impressive for an exam candidate." Unfortunately Yami didn''t seem to be listening as he completely ignored what Finral said and compared Sekke''s appearance to that of a bug from Mimoa Amazon. --- "Now then Asta, come!" Sekke yelled with a smug look on his face. "Yeah." The gray haired boy nodded before summoning out a dirty looking grimoire. "Oh?" For some reason, Grim felt his eyes being drawn to black grimoire that the gray haired boy was using. But what was weird was the fact that his own grimoire threatened to make an appearance as if sensing danger. Blocking out the sound of everything around him, the gray haired boy who was referred to as Asta pushed hand towards the open pages of his grimoire, and in front of everyone he pulled out a giant black blade covered in dirt and scuff marks. ''What the- Pushing off the ground with a tremendous amount of force that cracked the ground beneath his feet, Asta''s figure turned into a blur as he appeared in front the armoured Sekke with his sword held high above his head. "Eh?" *BOOM!!* Slicing through his barrier with little to no difficulty, the force of Asta''s sword collided with Sekke with enough of an impact that the ground below them was turned into a crater. ''What force!'' Grim''s eyes widened as his grimoire became more and more restless. "What the!" "Impossible!" Not expecting that outcome, looks of shock ran across the faces of the captains and the candidates. The only person who was unperturbed by such an outcome was the black haired Yuno who was smiling at Asta''s performance. Knocking Sekke unconscious, Asta rested the large sword on his shoulder and looked up at the magic knight captains. "Listen up everyone! I''m not joining the magic knights just so I can have a cushy life and avoid working hard. I''m here to work my bu?? off and become the Wizard King!" "Oho." Yami hummed. ''Wizard king eh? How interesting.'' Grim smiled. Chapter 8 - Squad After a couple more fights went down, it was eventually Yuno''s turn to fight. To call it one sided would be an understatement as he completely dominated his opponent without taking a single step. Out of all the fights, only Yuno''s and Asta''s could rouse Grim''s fighting intent as he was on the brink of drawing his sword out. By the time most of the fights had finished, Grim and the fat noble were finally called up to the stage. Walking to his position, Grim looked across at the noble and couldn''t help but smile as the mana around him pulsed. "Hmm?" All the captains raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Even Yuno couldn''t help but take notice of him. "What the hell are you smiling at you filthy peasant!" The fat noble yelled when he saw Grim''s smiling face. Instead of answering, he turned to look at the referee with a look of impatience. "Start!" "HAHAHA, now bow before me commoner!" Opening his grimoire, the fat noble raised his right hand in the air and yelled out the name of his spell. Gathering above the noble, a large sea of sand appeared and clumped itself together until it turned into a large looking fox. "Whoa!" "Impressive." "Incredible..." The candidates couldn''t help but sing their praises as they saw the spell slowly take shape. ''Fufufu, that''s right peasants, be amazed. Hahahaha.'' "Is that it?" Grim''s monotone voice suddenly rung out and silenced the crowd. "How disappointing... I thought you''d at least make me take you seriously but... this is honestly such a disappointment." He sighed and toned down his fighting intent. "Eh?!" The crowd responded. "And to think I was seriously fired up too. If I knew I was gonna be fighting a giant dog then I''d have chosen someone with more impressive magic... *Sigh* such a waste." He shook his head and looked towards the referee. "Can I change opponents? This one''s too weak." Stunned by Grim''s sudden request, the referee stood dumbstruck not knowing how to proceed. "Now that he mentions it..." Someone from the crowd started. "Isn''t it just a giant pet?" "Yeah... its actually not as cool as I thought it was when you think about it..." "Doesn''t this mean he''s just a glorified pet owner?" "Yeah." "How embarrassing." "How humiliating." "How pitiful." Hearing the words of the crowd, the fat noble''s face turned bright red as his anger started to rise to unprecedented levels. "SHUT UP YOU DAMN MONGRELS!!" He screamed at the top of his voice. "I''LL SHOW YOU! I''LL SHOW ALL OF YOU!!" "Pffthahahahahaha. This guy''s hilarious!" Yami burst out laughing from above. "So I really can''t switch? What if I pay you? Surely we can come to some deal right?" "YOU!!" Hearing Grim talk to the referee without a care in the world, the fat noble finally lost it and poured all his mana into his sand fox. "ATTACK!!" *RAAWWRRR!!!!* Bursting forward at an incredible speed, the large sand fox b?r?d its teeth and charged towards the occupied Grim. "Hmm?" Feeling a cluster of mana approaching him, Grim put his conversation on hold and turned his head to look at the approaching sand fox. [Breath of flames] Opening his grimoire up, a faint glow of orange light coated his body as a katana with a flame shaped hand guard materialized in his right hand. "Mana skin?" Fuegoleon and the other captains raised their eyebrows when they saw the orange glow appear on his body. Yami on the other hand was frowning hard as his focus was concentrated solely on the sword in Grim''s hand. [Ninth Form: Rengoku] Covering the blade in a dense layer of flames, Grim lifted the sword high above his head and look at the red face noble in the eyes. "Don''t interrupt me again." *BOOM!!* Swinging the blade down with a practiced level of grace, a large beam of concentrated flames shot out and blasted forward. Travelling at a shocking speed, the beam encapsulated the sand fox''s body before passing by the red faced noble and slamming into the bottom half of the platform the captains were sitting above and causing it to shake. "What the hell!" The crowd stood stunned as they looked at the smoking impression left in the ground that was still radiating heat. "I-I" Looking down at his burnt clothes, the fat noble wanted to scream at Grim but stopped after seeing the aftermath of the attack that passed by him. *GULP* "Such power..." Someone from the crowd muttered. "Hmm..." Yuno frowned and looked at him. "Amazing..." Asta''s eyes shone as he looked at Grim. Even the captains were taking more note of him as everyone in the area looked at him with various emotions in their eyes. Unfortunately this was unseen by Grim due to him turning his attention back to the referee. "See what I mean, too weak! Let me fight someone stronger." *Silence* --- After Grim''s match finished, a couple more fights took place, but none of them were flashy compared to the previous matches. "Ahem." Captain Vengeance suddenly called for everyone''s attention. "I want to thank you all for your participation in this examination. We of the Clover Kingdom are so lucky to have so many passionate youngsters such as yourselves aspiring to be magic knights." He paused. "But this is where things get serious." His tone suddenly changed. "When your number is called, please take a step forward. Whichever captain wants that participant, please raise your hand." Hearing this, a wave of unease spread through the testers as it finally dawned on them just how important this moment would be for the rest of their lives. "Golden Dawn, Golden Dawn, Golden Dawn." Grim heard a couple of people pray while crossing their fingers. "Now then." Captain Vengeance continued. "Will participant number one please step forward." --- "Number 32... Purple Orca''s." "Number 78... Crimson Lions." "Number 116... Failed." Number 141... Failed." "Heh, I guess that''s all I''m worth." Number 141 muttered as he walked passed Asta. "Number 164 step forward." Closing his eyes for a brief second, Yuno stepped forward and awaited the captain''s decisions. *GASP!!* "What!" "A-All the captains raised their hands!" "Yuno..." Asta couldn''t help but say his name. Looking up at the captains, Yuno made his decision. "I choose the Golden Dawn." "Lucky." "Looks like the Golden Dawn will remain the strongest." Various mummers erupted out of the crowd. "Ah, looks like a really good one was taken." Finral commented. "Number 165 step forward." Making and audible gulp, Asta took a deep breath and took a step forward. ''Oho, this should be interesting.'' Grim smiled and for some unexplainable reason, he found himself looking forward to what squad this gray haired boy would join. It was just a shame that no one raised their hand. *Silence* ''Wait! Are you serious!? Didn''t these guys see what he did to that smug bastard before?'' And as if to answer his question, Yami suddenly spoke up. "Of course no one would pick you." He stood up. "Yami..." Finral said his name. "Even if you''re really good in a fight, nobody wants a power that they can''t identify." Feeling like he was about to throw up, Asta stood on wobbly legs but kept staring at the black haired man standing above him. "As the name implies, the main thing we look for in a magic knight is- *Releases horrific amount of magic power* "Magic Power." Feeling Yami''s magic power, everyone including Yuno and Grim were rooted to ground as large beads of sweat started to form on their faces. ''So this is a captain...'' Sucking in a deep breath, Grim felt his heart beat accelerate as the blood in his body started flowing faster. Yami continued speaking to Asta. "Nobody here will want you, because you have no magical power." Hearing enough, Grim forced himself to speak despite the magical pressure pushing him back. "Wait a moment!" "Huh?" Yami turned to him in surprise. ''Isn''t this the kid with the katana?'' "You said that what you guys are looking forward in a magic knight is magic right? What about the knight part? What could be more knight worthy than a guy wielding a sword to defeat his enemies?" Yami suddenly turned his attention to Grim and released even more magical power that almost forced him to his knees. ''What pressure... Now I really want to fight him.'' "Eh? Why are you grinning?" Yami tilted his head and asked. "Hehehe, you''re really strong aren''t you." Grim laughed despite his struggle. Grabbing onto his head, Yami picked him up until the two were eye level. "I''m a magic knight captain, of course I''m strong dumb-ass." Yami answered in the most Yami fashion possible before looking at him. "That sword of yours... where did you get it?" "It comes with my magic." Grim struggled to say. "Your magic eh? What is it? Some fire type magic or something?" "Huh?" Grim made a dumbfounded expression. "What gave you that impression?" "....The fire...." "Ah, no wonder." Grim nodded, which was really hard considering that his head was being held by Yami. "...." "...." "...." "...." "Are you playing with me brat!!" Yami suddenly squeezed tighter after Grim ??psed into a state of silence. "Ow, ow, ow, the fu?ks your problem!?" "I asked you what your damn magic was!" Yami''s gripped tightened. "Ow, ow, ow, okay I''ll tell you! Just let me go." Finally hearing something he liked, Yami released Grim. "Damn, you really don''t hold back!" Grim rubbed his head. Seeing that Grim still wasn''t answering, Yami cracked his knuckles. "You were saying?" "Demon slaying!" Grim quickly answered. "Demon Slaying magic!" Chapter 9 - Coercion "Demon slaying magic? Well whatever." Yami turned away to look at Asta. "Oi short stuff." "Yes!" Asta stood at attention. "You said you were gonna be the wizard king right?" "Yes sir!" "Hmm... That means you''re not only planning to surpass me, but all the other captains as well... Do you honestly think that someone like you who has no magical power at all can achieve such a feat?" "I- Lowering his head, Asta stared at his feet. What Yami had just said really hit him hard. He knew that he wasn''t loved by mana like the others around him, but to give up on his dream so easily... That was something he just couldn''t do. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he looked up at black haired captain and spoke with determination. "I don''t care if I don''t get chosen. No matter how many times I trip up, no matter who says what to me. One day, I WILL BECOME THE WIZARD KING!!" He yelled with passion. "Oho." "He''s crazy." "Is he still going on about that?" "Like hell some crazy bumpkin will become the wizard king." "Fufufufu, he should give up before he embarrasses himself." Ignoring the commotion around him, Asta kept eye contact with Yami, never breaking for a second. "Hehahahahahaha." Yami burst out laughing. "You''re funny kid, you and katana boy over there can join my squad. "Eh!?" "What!?" Both Asta and Grim made surprised faces. "Wait a minute!" Grim spoke up. "I don''t agree to joi- "You vouched for him didn''t you?" Yami turned to look at him. "YAMI!" Fuegoleon shouted. Seeing the fire spell Grim had used to defeat the fat noble and his Sand Fox, Fuegoleon was determined to have him join his squad. "What?" Yami looked up towards Fuegoleon and the rest of the captains. "I''m just giving him an offer." "Ignoring the fact that its not even his turn, the fact that you''re openly forcing him to join your squad is un-befitting of a magic knight captain!" "I concur." Captain Vengeance spoke up and looked towards Grim. "As captain of the Golden Dawn, I would also like to offer you a place in my squad." "EH!!" Surprised voices rang through the examination area. Hearing this, Fuegoleon also offered him a place. "We of the Crimson Lions also offer you a place among us." "No way." "How can another commoner get such an offer!" "What is wrong with everyone!" Hearing the offer from the other two captains, Yami couldn''t help but frown before looking at Asta and smiling. "Oi brat, if he doesn''t join my squad you can kiss goodbye to any chance you had of joining any magic knight squads." As soon as Asta heard this, he made a B-line for Grim and started hugging his leg. "Please join that squad!" He yelled in desperation. "I''ll do anything you want! I''ll wash your clothes! I''ll make you breakfast, I''ll carry you around whenever you feel tired!" Asta begged. "Dude, get off. He wouldn''t really not let you in just because I wouldn''t join." "Wanna bet?" Yami''s voice rang out. "You wouldn''t." Grim frowned. "Then prove me wrong." He grinned. ''What the hell! So this kid''s future relies on me joining some unknown squad!'' Looking down at the gray haired boy hugging his leg, Grim couldn''t help but groan and turn to look at Yami. "....Are you really coercing me into this?" "You''re free to decline." He shrugged and lit another cigarette. "But if you do, that kid won''t be able to join my squad and he''ll fail the exam." Yami smiled. ''So all the cards are in my hands...'' Taking a look at the captains that were looking down at him from above, Grim couldn''t help but sigh. ''I''m gonna regret this.'' "You win... I''ll join." He said in a defeated tone. "Seriously!" Asta jumped to his feet with a surprising amount of energy. "Yeah." Grim nodded and turned to Yami. "What''s the name of your squad?" --- Before leaving with Asta and Grim, Yami had a brief conversation with his spacial taxi Finral. "Captain, were you really gonna turn away that kid with no magic if the other one didn''t join?" "Huh? Of course not." Yami looked at Finral like he was an idiot. "Eh? Then why did you say you''d only accept him if the other kid joined?" "Two for the price of one." Yami took in a deep drag. "And it was funny to watch the faces of the other captains when they saw him agree to join my squad. Haha hilarious." He laughed and carried on smoking without a care in the world. --- "Hey! How long are you gonna be?" Grim yelled while Asta was in the bathroom. "Just give me a minute!!" ''What the hell have I gotten myself into...'' "What''s your name anyway?" "I''m Asta!" "Just Asta?" "Yeah. What about you?" "Its Grim." "Grim? Your name can''t be that bad." "No, my name is Grim." "I''m sure your name is really nice." "No! As in the word Grim, is my name." "I don''t get it." "....Just call me Grim." --- "What took you two so long?" Yami asked when he saw the two of them coming over. "My stomache hurt! Like you wouldn''t believe the size of the thing that out of m- Ow, Ow, Ow!" Yami suddenly gripped onto his head and started squeezing. "Who the hell told you to give me all the details?" "Ow, Ow, Ow, please let go!" *Sigh* ''Why did agree to join these idiots...'' "Oi, why the hell are you sighing?" Yami turned to face him. "Just feeling a bit tired." Grim smiled and tried not to draw too much attention. "Hmm... Oi Finral, get us outta here." "Right." Nodding his head, the spacial mage pointed at the area in front of him and executed a spell from his grimoire. [Spacial magic- Fallen Angel''s Gate] Pointing his hand out in front of him, space twisted until it was replaced with a bluey gray blob of static. ''So this is spacial magic...'' Grim looked at the portal with intrigue. "WOAH!! That''s so cool!!" Asta yelled. "Ready to go captain." "Good." Picking Asta up by his collar, he yeeted him through the portal before turning to look at a Grim. "AHHHH!!!" [A/n: You guys have no idea how much I wanted him to shout LEEEEROY JEEENKINSSS!!] Hearing, Asta''s scream, Grim made the wise choice to just walk through the portal instead of waiting for Yami to yeet him through. Chapter 10 - Dysfunctional ''So this is the black bull''s hideout...'' Walking over a downed Asta, Grim couldn''t help but look at the weirdly misshapened building in front of him. ''How... peculiar.'' "You okay Asta?" He turned to look at him. "Yeah." He smiled and stood up. "Never better!" "Pretty magnificent isn''t it?" Yami''s voice sounded out from behind. "It kinda looks run-down." Grim muttered. "What was that?" "I said it looks nice." "Hmm... Welcome to the Black Bulls." Looking up at the large building, Asta couldn''t help but feel like his journey was finally starting. "Oi Yami." Grim suddenly called out. "Are the people from the Black Bulls strong?" "Tch, go in and find out yourself." While Grim definitely wanted to fight strong opponents, he really wanted to fight against someone he felt he had a chance of winning against. With that being said, fighting Yami and the other captains would be nothing short of suicidal for the current him. Nodding his head, both he and Asta approached the big wooden door. *Deep Breath* ''Lets do this.'' Just as the two were about to go in, the door suddenly exploded into a burst of flames as Asta and Grim were engulfed in the inferno. "Yahhhh!!" Asta screamed as his body was launched back. "Ahahahahahahahahahaha." Yami burst into laughter again. "Welcome to the worst Magic Knights Squad!" He grinned. *Sigh* ''I knew I''d regret this...'' "It burns! IT BURNS!!" Asta''s screams could still be heard in the background. Surrounded by an orange glow, Grim stood in the sea of the flames without looking too concerned. "Is... anyone gonna put him out?" "He''ll surpass his limits and force the flames away." "He''ll what?" After his six months of training, Grim had discovered one of the benefits of using the Breath of Flames was the fact that he gained a certain degree of fire resistance. While he wasn''t immune to fire itself, this level of flames weren''t enough for him frown at. While Asta was still screaming over being lit on fire, the bird that had made a nest out of his hair flew over and nested itself on top of Grim''s shoulder while his attention was drawn to what was going on inside of the Black Bull''s hideout. "STAY STILL YOU PUNK!!" A screaming man in shades yelled as he batted flaming balls of fire at a smiling blonde kid whose legs were covered in armor made out of lightning. "Whoo Hoo!!" He laughed while evading all the attacks. "C''mon Magna! If you get any slower I''ll kill you." "JUST TRY IT!!" "Urgh, what time is it?" Waking up to the sound of chaos exploding all around her, a pink haired woman in nothing but her bra and p?nt??s woke up with one a mug of alcohol in her hand. "This hangover is killing me~" She said before downing the contents of her mug. ''Seriously... what the hell have I gotten myself into!'' "Whoa, so this is a magic knights squad." Asta rolled up next to Grim after managing to put the fire out. Seeing this, the bird perched on Grim''s shoulder flew off and nestled itself back on top of Asta''s hair. --- By the time things finally calmed down, Yami had gathered the rest of the squad members and pushed Grim and Asta to the forefront. "Introduce yourselves brats." Clenching his fists, Asta took a deep breath before stepping forward. "I''m Asta from Hage village! Its a p???sur? to meet you all, my dream is to become the Wizaed King!!" After Asta finished shouti- introducing himself, Grim took a step forward to stand should to shoulder with him. "I''m Grim from Nairn, I was blackmailed into joining this squad but I hope we can all get along. I guess you could say that my dream is to beat the wizard king." "EH!!" Asta turned to face him. "Why''d you want to do that?!" "Because the wizard king''s the strongest." Grim smiled before going into further detail. "Just imagine it Asta, the person everyone considers the strongest writhing beneath your feet, doesn''t it just fill you with joy!" He started breathing heavily. "No..." Hearing the conversation between the two, Yami took in a deep drag of his cigarette before turning to Finral. "I''m gonna go take a dump, introduce them in the mean time." "Yes captain." He replied and watched as Yami disappear down the hallway. ''Phew, that guy''s gonna give me a heart attack.'' "Anyway, I''m sure you''ve already met, but I''ll introduce you." He indicated towards the guy in the white makeup and black lipstick. "This is Gordon Agrippa, he''s pretty gloomy and you never know what he''s thinking, but he''s a good guy." "Nice to meet you." Gordon greeted them in a quiet voice. "Moving on." Finral continued. "Over here we have Vanessa Enoteca, she''ll probably get in your face when she''s drunk and probably try to molest you, but she''s not that bad of a person." "I won''t try to molest them." She denied and held back her urge to vomit. "Carrying on with the introductions, next on the list we have Luck Voltia." He looked at the blonde kid that was previously fighting the dude with the mohawk. "He''s a battle maniac and for some reason he never stops smiling, but he''s a good guy." "Nice to meet ya." He smiled before suddenly getting up in their faces. "Do you guys like to fight?!" "S-Sure..." Asta answered. "Only against strong opponents." Grim smiled back. "ME TOO!! We should fight later!!" "Definitely!" Grim agreed without any hesitation and felt a weird kind of kinship. He was quite curious as to how he would face off against a lightning mage. ''I think we''ll get along.'' While the two of them we''re busy bonding over their love of fighting, Asta was ?ssaulted by a picture of a little girl. "This is Marie, touch her and I''LL KILL YOU." "Eeeppp!!" --- "The adrenaline man! Its the best part!" "Are you kidding me?! Its definitely the feeling you get after crusing your enemy!" Grim argued back. "No way, you only feel that good thanks to the adrenaline you get from the fight!" Luck retorted. "You only feel that way because you''re determined to beat your opponent!" Ignoring Finral''s introductions, Grim and Luck went back and forth until Magna broke them up and adressed both Asta and Grim. "Two weaklings from the scrubs are newest members of the Black Bulls? Don''t make me laugh!" ''Who the hell is this guy?'' Grim wondered forgetting that he had ignore Finral''s introductions. "Until you get one of these robes, I Magna Swing won''t accept you!" The Mohawk dude proclaimed. ''But Yami accepted us... Does his opinion really matter?'' But before Grim could voice his suspicions, Asta had already started speaking. "Oh my god! Its a magic knight''s robe!" He grabbed onto Grim''s shoulder and started shaking him before turning back to look at Magna. "Please Let me have one!!" For some reason his eyes started sparkling. "You want one? That''s good." Magna made an amused expression. "Because you''re about to experience the Black Bull''s welcoming ceremony." Chapter 11 - Grim Luck -Black Bull''s outer area- "I don''t care what method you use, all you have to do is either block or dodge the magic I''m about to throw at you." Magna spoke to both Grim and Asta. "If you guys can manage that, I''ll give you these robes." "BRING IT ON!!" Asta shouted looking confident. ''Is this really necessary? Either way, I''m not gonna turn down a fight.'' Grim smiled and prepared himself. But before they could start, the trio were interuppted by one smiley boy. "Actually Magna." Luck jumped over to Grim''s side. "I''m gonna test this one!" "Hey wai- Before Magna could even answer, Luck had already shifted his attention onto Grim. "Hehe, looks like we won''t have to wait to fight." Feeling his enthusiasm, Grim couldn''t help but also want to fight. Afteral, unlike that fat noble back at the magic knight entrance exam, Luck was a bonafide magic knight, he should be able to use the new spells he learnt from his 6 months of training. "Ready when you are." "THAT''S THE SPIRIT! LET KILL EACH OTHER!!" Moving a bit away from Magna and Asta''s area, the rest of the Black Bull''s looked at each other with concern. "Should we do something about them?" --- "I''m starting now!" Luck yelled and opened his grimoire. "Don''t hold back!" Grim smiled and opened up his own grimoire. [Lightning Creation Magic: Thunder God''s Boots] [Breath of the beast] *BOOM!!* Kicking off the ground with a lot of explosive force, both boys charged towards the other unable to hide the smiles on their faces. "GRIMM!!" "LUCKK!!" *BANG!!* Clashing head first into each other, Luck''s lightning covered boots collided with one of Grim''s blades. [Breath of Flames] Activating his Demon slaying magic, the hue around Grim''s body changed from gray to orange as the blade that had clashed with Luck''s boot changed into a katana with a red colored blade. [Ninth form- Rengoku] *BOOM!!* "What the hell!" Vanessa jumped to her feet. "Did he just change his magic affinity?" "Apparently he uses something called ''Demon slaying magic''" Finral came over and explained. "Demon slaying magic?" "I don''t get it either, but its what he said when the captain asked him." Perched above the Black Bull''s headquaters, the bird that was usually with Asta watched both Asta''s and Grim''s matches with a weird gleam in its beady eyes. --- "AHAHAHAHAHA, This is so much fun!" Luck laughed as he springboarded off the blade to dodge Grim''s fire beam attack. "You haven''t seen anything yet!" Grim''s smile deepened as he returned to using breath of the beast. "Back to two blades huh." Luck ???ked his head before preparing to attack again. Flashing out of sight, he appeared next to a startled Grim. *BANG!!* Whipping his leg out at an unreasonable speed, his lightning covered boot collided with Grim''s ribcage and sent him flying through the air. "Urghhh!!" Stabbing his swords into the ground, Grim managed to halt his momentum, unfortunately, Luck wasn''t about to give him a break. Appearing in front of the downed Grim, the smile on Luck''s face didn''t falter for a moment as he pulled his leg back and swung it forward towards Grim''s chin. "Heh." [Breath of flames- Second form: Rising Scorching Sun] Switching to Breath of flames, Grim grinned as he felt the sword in his hand change form. Activating his spell, he swung his swords upwards creating a wheel of fire that crashed into an unsuspecting Luck. "Arghh!!" --- "Not bad." A voice sounded out behind Vanessa and Finral. "CAPTAIN!" The two of them shouted when they saw who it was. --- Blown back by Grim''s fire wheel attack, Luck''s heels dug into the ground to slow his backwards momentum. Once he finally came to a stop, he looked down at his burnt clothes and couldn''t help but laugh. "Amazing... YOU''RE REALLY AMAZING GRIM!!" [Lightning Creation Magic: Thunder God''s Gloves] Executing another spell, a pair of large clawed lightning gloves manifested itself on Luck''s hands. "Ready for more?" Grim asked even though he knew the answer. "You betcha!" *BOOM!!* Charging at each other again, the two boys charged their magic and engaged in combat once more. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BOOM!!* ''Damn it!'' Shaking off the attack, Grim threw himself back in the fight but quickly realized that he couldn''t keep up with Luck''s tremendous speed. And to make matters even worse, he also realized that his Breath of the Beast blades were to lethal to use against Luck. This left him with only his Breath of Flames blade. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* "Looks like the newbies at his limit." Finral commented after watching Grim being pushed into a corner. *Sigh* "Looks like it." Vanessa agreed after seeing Grim get hit with a 1-2 combo." "That brat... He''s about to surpass his limit." Yami suddenly grinned. --- ''Damn it, Damn it, DAMN IT!!'' *BANG!!* ''He''s too fu?k?n? fast!'' *BANG!!* ''Why the hell is he so fast!'' *BANG!!* ''Or is it that I''m too slow?'' *BANG!!* ''No, its my attacks that are too slow!'' *BANG!!* ''Yeah, if I were faster...'' *BANG!!* ''If my attacks were as fast as him...'' *BANG!!* ''If my attacks were as fast as lightning...'' *BANG!!* ''Lightning...'' *BANG!!* Landing a solid punch right in the middle of Grim''s face, Luck''s danger senses suddenly went off as what seemed like yellow lightning started to surround Grim. Flashing into view, Grim''s grimoire shone a bright yellow color that caught the attention of everyone including Asta and Magna. "What the hell?!" "What''s going on?" "Marie..." Feeling an electrifying feeling run through his body, an unfamiliar blade appeared in Grim''s hand as his grimoire opened in front of him and revealed a new page. Not knowing why, he instinctively activated the new spell. [Breath of Thunder- Third Form: Thunder Swarm] Bursting out of his body, a spining wave of bright yellow lightning exploded in all directions. ''Shit!'' *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Due to him being in such close proximity to Grim, Luck had to push himself to the limit in order to evade the waves of lightning coming at him. But to make matters worse, Grim started running towards him while continuously spamming his new spell. [Thunder Swarm] [Thunder Swarm] [Thunder Swarm] [Thunder Swarm] ''Ha...HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!'' Evading the continuous swarm of lightning, Luck''s smile was becoming scarier and scarier as beads of sweat started rolling down his face. "AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!" He laughed uncontrollably as he stretched his right arm out in front of himself and focused his lightning magic onto the tips of his fingers. [Lightning Magic: Thunderclap Crumbling Orb] Appearing on the end of his fingers, multiple orbs lightning spawned into existence. "Oh no..." Vanessa muttered. Activating the spell on his other hand, Luck kept evading Grim''s thunder swarm and waited for a gap to appear in his defense. "THERE!!" Pointing both hands forwards, the smile on Luck''s face threatened to reach the edge of his eyes as he fired the orbs at Grim. [Thunder Swarm] [Breath of Flames- Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation] Switching breaths, the recently debuted yellow glow transformed into a bright orange as Grim covered his blade in flames and spun it around creating a defensive stream of flames that intercepted Luck''s lightning orbs. "HAHAHA, you even blocked that!" Luck laughed feeling his blood flow accelerate. "Forget that! What was that attack! It nearly got me!" Grim also laughed as he matched Luck''s crazy with his own. Just as the two were about to go at it again. A booming voice put and end to everything. "ENOUGH!!" "Eh?" "Huh?" Stopping in their tracks, both boys turned to look at the one who had interrupted them. "Whose backyard do you think you''re tearing up?" Yami''s figure appeared in front of the two. Chapter 12 - Settling in After being interrupted by Yami, Grim and Luck were forced to postpone their fight for another time. While both of them were in a battle crazed state, they knew better than to disagree with Yami unless they were confident they could beat him. Shortly after that, Grim recieved some brief medical attention for his ribs before he and Asta were both given their Black Bull''s magic knight robes by Magna and Luck. "With this, you guys are now full-fledged members of the Black Bulls!!" "Heck yeah!" Asta cheered bursting with energy. Ignoring him, Grim''s attention was fully focused on Luck who funny enough, was also looking at him with a creepy smile on his face. "Lets fight again." "Can''t wait." Not breaking eye contact, the two of them kept smiling and started to freak out the other members of the black bulls. "Should we say something?" Vanessa asked Finral. "As long as they''re not killing each other we don''t need to intervene." "Now then!" Magna suddenly spoke up. "Since you guys are now offical Black Bull members, you get to be taken on a tour by yours truly!" --- "So this is the mess hall." "Ooohh." Asta gasped. --- "This is the bathhouse." "Ahhhhh." --- Next up, Magna took the two to a deadly looking corridor that had several traps laying about. "This is the hall leading towards the women''s sleeping area, if a guy tries to approach it the traps will activate and he''ll die." "Wait what!" Grim finally spoke. "Moving on." "Hey wait! Don''t just brush it off!" --- "And this is the wild beast dungeon!" Standing behind a weak looking gate we several shadowy monster that clawed at the new members. *RAWRRR!!* "Why the hell does such a thing exist inside a magic knight''s headquaters!" Asta yelled over the roar. "Yami likes it." Magna shrugged before heading to another area. ''What the hell is wrong with this place...'' --- "And here we have- "There you are!" Magna suddenly said to the girl before turning to the two newbies. "Asta, Grim, say hello to the other rookie who just joined." ''Other rookie!'' Asta''s eyes sparkled again while Grim looked at her from top to bottom. ''A lot of mana...'' For some reason, he got a similar feeling from her like the one he got from when he first encountered Asta and Yuno. "Hi! I''m Asta from Hage village! Lets work together to reach our goals- *Slap!* "Eh?..." Slapping his hand away, the silver haired girl made a repulsed face and looked at him like he was beneath her. "You little insect, how dare a filthy ant with such little magic power talk to me." "Eh?" ''This haughty tone... Why does it sound so familiar?'' "My name is Noelle Silva, a member of house Silva of the Clover Kingdom''s royal family." "R-ROYAL FAMILY!!" ''Ah, no wonder her tone sounded so familiar, she and that fat guy from the exam are birds of a feather.'' "And you." She turned to Grim. "How dare you not bow in the presence of your betters!" ''Is she talking to me?'' "Hey! Are you listening? Maybe the words of a human is too much for such a low born beast such as yourself to understand." ''Okay, this bitch has got to go.'' Feeling the corner of his mouth twitch, Grim surrounded his body with an orange aura and released an absurd amount of magic power. [Breath of Flames] "What the!" Feeling the temperature around Grim suddenly increase, Noelle, Asta and Magna had no choice but to step back. Ramping it up to another level, the heat and the glow around his body intensified. "T-This magic power!" Noelle looked at him with wide eyes. "Too bright!" Asta yelled as he and Magna shielded their eyes. "H-HOW DARE A LOW BORN COMMONER LIKE YOU ACT SO DISRESPECTFULLY IN FRONT OF ME! Noelle suddenly screamed before pointing her hand at him. "I''ll show you the overwhelming difference in our status!" [Water Magic: Sea Dragon''s Waterball] Activating one of her spells, a powerful torrent of high pressure water shot out from her hand and headed straight for Grim. "Know your place commoner!" Looking at the high pressured stream of water approaching him, Grim merely sneered at the attack before materializing his Breath of flames sword into his hand. Holding the sword in both hands, Grim slashed upwards in an arc like motion allowing the flames on his sword to shape itself into a fire-wheel that slammed into the water jet that resulted in the area being filled with steam. "Eh?" Noelle made a surprised expression before being forced to cover her face with her hands to avoid any scaldings. [Breath of the Beast] While the piping hot steam exploded into the surrounding area, Grim switch to breath of the beast and used his enhanced sensory and physical abilities to launch himself into the air and find Noelle''s position. ''There you are.'' Finding her location, Grim let gravity do its job as he fell feet first towards her ?h?st. *BANG!* "URGH!" Slamming straight down onto her ?h?st, the air was knocked out of Noelle''s lungs as her entire body was forced to the ground. Summoning out his giant sword, Asta swung it at the steam and created a small gust of wind to blow away the steam and reveil the sight before him. "Huh?" Once the steam had been cleared away, the sight of Grim kneeling down on Noelle''s ?h?st came into view. ''What the hell?'' While he and Magna were both confused by what they were seeing, Grim was too busy focusing his attention on the silver haired girl beneath him. "Submit." "YOU!!" She grit her teeth and was about to release a barrage of insults. *BANG!!* Summoning out his jagged beast swords, Grim stabbed them into the ground mere centimeters away from her head. "I said... Submit." "I-I will do no such thing!" "Then burn." Switiching to breath of flames, the jagged blades vanished and in their place came a beautiful blade with a flame shaped handguard. Being so close to Breath of flames Grim caused Noelle to bear the full brunt to the amount of heat his body was giving off. Seeing that she was uncomfortable, Grim repeated his previous words. "Submit." "Never!" She refused with large beads of sweat starting to appear on her face. Smiling at her reluctance, Grim upped the heat to the point that it was becoming harder for Noelle started to choke from the humidity. Watching all of this take place from a distance, Asta and Magna were thoroughly shocked by Grim''s actions. It was only after the humidity reached them that they decided to act. Gritting his teeth together, Asta charged towards Grim ignoring the intense wave of heat that he was giving off. "Hmm?" Hearing Asta''s footsteps, Grim knew that it''d probably be best to stop before Magna called for the others. *Sigh* ''I''ll deal with her next time.'' Jumping into the air before Asta could tackle him, Grim watched as Asta tripped and fell face first into Noelle''s no-no place. --- After freaking out and firing off multiple misdirected water spells at Asta, Noelle gave Grim the dirtiest look he had ever seen before walking away. "...What the hell was that?!" Magna turned to look at Grim. "She told me to know my place... I was just reminding her what hers was." He shrugged. *Sigh* "I''m to tired to deal with this shit, let me show you guys to your rooms." --- "And here we are." Walking into what could only be described as a cupboard sized room, Asta and Grim both marveled at it for different reasons. For Asta it was excitement. Due to him growing up in an orphanage, he always had to share with the others, so for him having a room that he could call his own was quite a nice change. Grim on the other hand was feeling downtrodden, in fact he felt like he had regressed. Compared to the room he had previously been living in, this place was a shoebox. "Why are our rooms next to each other?" He turned to ask Magna. "You two seemed to get along so I thought it''d be nice." ''Makes sense.'' Nodding his head, Grim continued watching as Asta started cleaning his room while shouting something about making it sparkle. Now that he thought about it, both he and Asta used swords to fight... And to make things weirded, his breath of the beast swords and Asta''s black sword were quite similar. While his slashed through magic, Asta''s seemed to not only be able to cut through magic, but also reflect it with flat part of the blade. It was honestly kind of intriguing. "Hey Asta." He suddenly called out. "Hmm?" His head popped out from under the bed. "You okay? That silver haired girl hit you quite hard." "Haha! I''m fine, no way something like that would stop me." He laughed loudly. "Good to know." Grim smiled. "You said you have no magic right?" "Yeah." He nodded. "So how can you bring out that grimoire?" "Anti-magic." "Anti-magic?" "Yeah." Asta nodded. "Its like magic that gets rid of other magic." "So its magic huh? But you have no mana." "Its not magic, its anti-magic. I don''t need mana." "But you just said its magic that gets rid of other magic." "Yeah. Anti-magic gets rid of magic" Asta nodded again. "But anti-magic isn''t magic?" "That''s right!" Feeling like he was going around in a circle, Grim decided to drop the topic for the moment. Chapter 13 - Discovery Sitting in his room, Grim opened up his grimoire and flipped through a couple of pages. After his fight with Luck, he had learnt quite a few important facts about his magic. The first thing he gained more insight into was his usage of Breath of the Beast. Unlike his other breath styles, Breath of the Beast was more suited to killing an opponent than fighting one. In his battle with Luck, he could have easily cut through his lightning boots and tore his legs off in their first clash if he really wanted to. The second thing he learnt through his fight with Luck was how to properly switch between his swords mid battle. While he had practiced doing it during his six month training period, nothing compared to actually doing it in battle. And while he may have broken some ribs as a result of his fight, he definitley felt that it was worth it in the end. The last and most important thing he learnt from his fight with Luck was actually related to something that had been bothering him for a while. During his fight with Sister Theresa she had hit him with a powerful flame spell that left him lying flat on his ?ss. A couple hours later he then found a fire related breath style in his grimoire, at first he suspected that it could have been a coincidence, but after battling Luck and being hit by a shit ton of lightning punches, he obtained the Breath of Thunder style. Just like his fight with Sister Theresa, he was hit by a powerful spell and eventually gained a new spell that mirrored the elemental damage he received. He guessed that this meant that everytime he received damage from a certain type of spell he''d gain a new breath style related to the same element. If his hypothesis was correct, then doesn''t that mean he''d have to let people hit him until his grimoire said "Aight, you took your beating like a man, here''s a new spell." If that was the case, he could bet that fu?ktard of a God made it this way on purpose. It wasn''t enough that he gave him a body that was weaker than the average human, he also had to make it so that it was near impossible for him to unlock the other breath styles without getting an ?ss whoopin. Sighing at his new found discovery, Grim continued flipping through his grimoire until he felt a large amount of mana gathering at one point. ''What the hell?'' Opening up his window, he saw a large ball of water with multiple water sprouts bursting out of it. *Sigh* ''What is that noble up to now?'' --- "What''s going on?" Walking up to Yami and the others, they all looked up at the silver haired noble who was drowning in her own spell. *Breathes out smoke* "Her magic''s out of control." Yami replied "Oh..." Grim nodded with understanding before looking back up at the giant waterball. "Should we do something about this?" "We can''t, if we attack with magic then the girl might get hurt." Yami took in another drag of smoke. "If only we had someone who could nullify magic?" ''Nullify magic?'' "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" As if hearing his thoughts, Asta''s scream rung out loud as his small body came dropping down from the sky. ''Nope, not even gonna question it.'' *Catch!* "You got here just when I was thinking about you." Yami said after catching Asta with one arm. "Eh?!" "Now then, go do something about that." He pointed at Noelle''s waterball. "Good luck." Grim gave him a thumbs up. "What do you meeaannnnn!!!" Enhancing his strength with reinforcement magic, Yami suddenly threw him at the giant waterball. "AAAHHHHHH!!!!" "Surpass your limits brat!" Yami yelled some encouraging words. "I think I understand why no one wants to join this squad." --- ''The power to nullify magic...'' After getting rid of the waterball spell, Asta and Noelle fell from the sky and were transported to the ground with Finral''s magic. "Hahahaha, that''s some crazy magic you''ve got there!!" Pushing himself up off the ground, Asta held a friendly hand out to the silver haired girl. "I''m really jealous since I don''t have any. I bet you''ll be unstoppable when you get it under control." Asta smiled. ''This guy is way too nice to someone who was insulting him mere hours ago.'' "Want some?" Charmy hobled over dressed in her sleepwear and offered Grim some food. "...Sure." "Heh, so your problem was that you weren''t able to control your magic eh?" Magna suddenly spoke up after Asta and Noelle made up. "Why didn''t ya say so?! We''re the Black bulls, an order of misfits and outsiders- "Speak for yourselves..." Grim muttered remembering that he didn''t even want to join this magic squad. "We can easily take care of your control issues." Magna continued. ''I think you should take care of her attitude first.'' "Hey Grim!" Luck jumped over to his side. "Wanna fight?" "Hell yeah." --- -The next morning- "So... why are we fighting?" Asta asked holding his sword in front of him. "I heard its what squad members do." Grim answered. After battling Luck again last night, Grim had gotten better at using his magic in battle against an actual mage. But then he thought about what he''d do if he fought against some else who could nullify magic. And being the kind of person he was, he immediatley asked Asta to spar with him when he had the chance. And that brings us to the current time, standing with his Breath of the Beast swords out, Grim''s body was coated in the soft glow of a gray aura. "Ready?" "Yeah." Asta nodded. After watching Asta''s fight with Sekke back at the exam, Grim noticed just how physically superior Asta was compared to him. With that knowledge in mind, he chose to utilize Breath of the Beast to reinforce his own physical stats. Staring the other down, the two swordsmen nodded before charging each other. Using his absurd leg muscles, Asta''s figure flashed forward was an alarming amount of speed. *BOOM!* ''That''s right Asta... come at me!'' Feeling his battle senses and his urge to dominate being stimulated, a weird smile adorned Grim''s face as he used his magic reinforced legs to match Asta''s charging speed. *BOOM!!* Leaving two small craters behind them, the two boys quickly appeared in front of the other and swung their swords. *CLANG!!* ''This strength!'' Clashing swords, Grim felt the ground beneath their feet collapse as he was pushed back by the outrageous weight of the black sword. It was a wonder how Asta was able to lift the thing. "Your swords are still here!" Asta said in shock. ''My swords?'' "Oh?" Now that Asta had pointed it out, Grim realized that his swords weren''t disappearing like magic did when it came into contact with Asta''s sword. ''Wait a second... Does that mean the swords are physical and not magical in nature?'' Thinking about it now, the swords being physical objects and not magic contrsucts actually made sense. His demon slaying magic probably created physical replicas of the swords from the demon slayer manga whereas the magic that appeared on the blades actually spawned from his body. ''So that''s how it is...'' Within his fragmented memories of his 12th life, he remembered that while the swords from Demon Slayer were useful in killing demons, it was actually the breath styles that made it possible for the Demon Slayers to keep up with their enemies. [Breath of Thunder] Switching styles, the beast swords that were clashing against Asta''s sword vanished from sight and caused Asta to slip forward. "EH!" Using Asta''s momentum against him, Grim easily side stepped him and felt their shoulders brush against each other. [3rd Form: Thunder Swarm] Activating his new spell, Grim took advantage of the fact that all of Asta''s weight was leaning forward. With that little fact known to him, a spinning wave of lightning appeared around him and struck Asta''s side electrocuting him in the process. Chapter 14 - A magical mission After settling in at the Black Bull''s base of operations, Grim, Noelle and Asta were required to do a couple of tasks in order to help out the base. One of those tasks included feeding the monsters in the wild beast dungeon cages. That being said, Noelle always kept a certain amount of distance away from him and shot him cold looks whenever the chance appeared. Asta on the other hand took everything in stride. After saving Noelle from the whole drown in the waterball incident, she had become much warmer to him and made him act as the messenger between her and Grim. "Hahaha, people really can surpass their limits when they''ve got something to protect." Captain Yami''s voice reverberated from down the dark corridor. "It was surprising to me too!" Magna''s voice accompanied his before they came into sight of the 3 new recruits. "Why are you two n?k?d?" Grim asked after the two of them came into view. Standing with Noelle and Asta in front of the wild beast dungeon cage, Noelle''s face turned red after seeing Magna and Captain Yami walking towards them n?k?d. "Its liberating." Was Yami''s response before nodding to Magna. "Now then, you three will be going on your first mission." Magna stood in front of them with the grace of a senpai... Which was really hard considering his current attire. "Hell yeah! Magic knight work!" Asta cheered ignoring their nudity while Noelle''s face was still flushed red. "What''s the mission?" Grim asked also ignoring their nudity. With all the peculiarities he''s seen around this place, he was confident that nothing could surprise him. "Hehe, you''ll be going to the village of Sosshi to find and hunt a boar." "...." "...." "...." "Oi! What''s with those faces! This is a serious mission y''know!" Magna snapped. "No... its just... Aren''t magic knights supposed to do cooler things like fighting crime and saving people?" Grim phrased the question as nicely as he could instead of saying what he was really thinking. "What are you talking about? Of course we''re saving people!" "By hunting a boar?" "We''ll save them from starving to death." Magna smiled smuggly much to everyone else''s displeasure. "C''mon brats, we''ll- "CAN YOU PLEASE PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Noelle couldn''t take it any longer and finally snapped. --- Moving to the main area, Magna and Yami now fully dressed sat comfortably on the sofa while Grim and the other newbies were forced to stand. "So about your first mission as magic knights." Yami started. "You mean hunting a boar." Grim added. "Yes." "How do we even get saddled with such a mission in the first place?!" Noelle questioned unable to figure out how they had gotten here. Looking forlorn, Yami took a long puff of his cigarette and explained the situation to the trio. "Me and Magna ended up losing to the mayor of Sosshi village." "WHAT!!" "You guys lost!" "How strong was this guy?!" Everyone including Grim made surprised faces as they couldn''t imagine a magic captain like Yami losing to the mayor of some random village. Taking in another deep drag of smoke, Yami looked up at the ceiling before breathing out. "We lost in a game of cards." "Eh?" "That old geezer basically stripped us of everything we had." "And six months worth of pay!" Magna chimed in. "So to pay off our debt, we promised that we''d do anything he asked." Yami continued. "And he asked us to take care of some wild boars at his no name village?" Grim asked putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "Yeah." *Sigh* "So let me get this straight, you guys lost everything after making several bad decsions while gambling, and to pay off your debt, you''re sending your newly aquired squad members off to clean up the mess you guys made under the guise of it being our first mission?" "Woah, you''re pretty smart aren''t you." Yami said with a surprised expression which really pissed Grim off. "Are we atleast getting paid?" "Of course not! That old man took everything." "Then what''s the difference between this and slave labour!" "Slaves don''t get paid!" "We''re not getting paid though!" "Oh yeah... Magna take care of this, I''m gonna go surpass my limits in the shitter." "Sure thing boss!" Magna saluted and watched their captain get up and leave. "...." "...." "...." --- Once the captain had disappeared from sight, Magna took the reins and started giving them orders. "You heard the captain, get your brooms ready we''re going to Sosshi village!" "I can''t fly on a broom." "Me neither." Asta and Noelle spoke up some excuses. "Eh?! Why the hell can''t you guys do something as basic as that!" Magna yelled. "I don''t have any magic." "I can''t control my magic." He then turned to look at Grim. "Don''t lump me in with them, I can fly on a broom, I''m completely normal." *Flashback to him smiling while fighting Luck.* ''Normal my ?ss!'' *Sigh* "Here''s what we''ll do." Sighing at the fact that 2 out of the three newbies couldn''t fly on a broom, Magna opened up a closet and brought out a weird looking broomstick with an animal skull on it. "We''ll take my broom Crazy Cyclone!" --- Due to him being able to use his own broom, Grim was forced to let one of the two other newbies ride with him. At first, Magna suggested that he take Noelle but that suggestion was quickly shot down after Grim refused and they remembered what happened last time Grim got annoyed with her. "Woah! So this is what it''s like to ride on one of these!" Holding onto Grim''s waist, Asta marvelled at the fact that he was riding on a broomstick. "Hold on properly or you''ll fall!" Grim called over the wind. Not paying attention to him at all, Asta kept shuffling about and Grim had to try to keep the broom steady so that they wouldn''t fall to their deaths. "Humph! How dare he refuse to ride with me! Who does he think he is!" While she didn''t particulary like Grim as a person, being rejected by someone she didn''t like was more of a blow to her self esteem than she would like to admit. So with nowhere to air her frustrations, she ended up occasionally strangling Magna as a result. "Eck! Too tight!" --- Flying through the air at a moderate speed, Grim and the rest landed at an area surrounded by a thick cloud of mist. "What the heck?! Where''s all this mist coming from?" "Isn''t that the village over there." Asta pointed to the centre of the mist. "This place has some seriously bad weather." "Its magic dummy." Noelle sneered when she heard him. "Even if we go through the front, we''ll probably be unable to reach the village." "Asta." Grim suddenly called out. "Yeah?" "Can your sword get rid of the mist?" "Eh? How do I do that?" "Your sword negates magic right? Just touching the mist with your sword should clear it away." "Oh." Understanding what he meant, Asta pulled out his giant sword and started clearing away the surrounding mist. Watching his actions, Grim felt like he had a better understanding of Asta''s ability. If he were to use breath of the beast to cut through the mist he''d be wasting his time as the mist had no actual form in which he could cut. It''d be as effective as him cutting the air. "Take that! And That! And That!" Slicing through the mist until it had been completely swept away, Asta and his companions stood frozen as the clearing mist revealed what was ahead of them. ''I was not expecting this...'' Huddled around each other, the villagers of Sosshi village wore scared faces as they were down on their knees while a large amount of giant icicles floated above them. "Execution." An unfamiliar voice said aloud causing the icicles to drop. ''Shit!'' [Fire Magic: Exploding Fireballs] [Breath of Flames- 9th Form: Rengoku] Chapter 15 - Sosshi Village "Magic knights!" "We''re saved!" Using fire spells to destroy the descending icicles, Grim and Magna stood front and center in front of the surprised villagers. "What''s going on here?" Magna turned to look at them while Grim kept an eye out. "*Sob* They came pops *Sob* they''re here just like you said they''d be." Kneeling down next to an unconscious old man, a young boy cried his eyes out while burying his head in the old man''s ?h?st. "This old man..." Seeing the unresponsive old man seemed to cause a reaction in Magna as he lost his cool for a second. While Magna was busy looking at the clearly deceased old man, Grim''s focus was squarely on the scar faced man and his hooded companions who had been watching the events unfold in front of them without a care in the world. "Is this your doing?" Looking up from his pocket watch, the scar faced man sighed and opened up his grimoire. *Sigh* "I guess everyone will die 3 seconds later than they were supposed to... No matter." "So is that a yes?" Instead of responding, the scar faced man raised his right hand and fired a giant icicle at Grim and the others. ''Ice magic... Breath of Flames should be enough to deal with this guy.'' Before he had a chance to react, Asta blitz passed him with his sword in hand and slashed the icicle in half causing the two pieces to change the directions they were heading in and avoid hitting Grim and the villagers. "Hmm?" The scarred man raised his eyebrow. "Who the hell are you guys!" Asta yelled. Ignoring him, the scar faced man started muttering to himself quietly. "No one said there''d be a group of magic knights here today... Did our spy network fail? No, it must be an unsanctioned expedition on their part." Magna who had just run out of mana ran his eyes over the scarred man and his companions. ''They don''t look like spies from another country or run of the mill thieves... Just who are they?'' While this was going on, the scar faced man kept muttering to himself. "How did they get through the barrier that we set up? It doesn''t look like they got here through spacial magic." Taking a look at them properly, he finally noticed the emblem on their robes. "The Black Bulls... Amongst the known magic knight squads, they''re infamous for being a bunch of weirdos that do whatever they want..." Looking back down at his pocket watch, a weird glint flashed through his eyes. "5 minutes... In 5 minutes I''ll destroy this village and resume my search." "Bored now!" Switching to Breath of the Beast, Grim sped passed Asta and appeared in front of the scar faced man with an uncomfortable smile spreading across his lips. "GRIM!" Asta and the rest shouted after seeing his actions. Reacting to Grim''s sudden ?ssault, one of the hooded figures behind the scarred man raised their hand. ''Oh fu?k!'' *BANG!* Getting hit squarely in the ?h?st by the sprial shaped mist attack, Grim was sent flying backwards and collided with one of the nearby bulidings. "GRIM!!" Everyone screamed when they saw him get hit by the magic spell. "Heheheheh. A sneak attack? Really?" Pushing the rubble off himself, Grim was seriously thankful that his body was reinforced when using Breath of the Beast. Dusting himself off, he stepped through the destroyed wall with a giant grin on his face. "Bitch move bro, bitch move." "You''re still standing... How annoying." The scar faced man frowned. "What can I say, a good fight just can''t keep me down." "This idiot." Noelle muttered while Magna smiled. Seeing that he was alright, Asta breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention back onto the scarred man and his companions. "Hey you! Why the hell are you trying to kill everyone from this village!" Standing there in silence, the scar faced man decided to explain his reasoning. But before he could, he was interrupted once again. "Sorry Asta, but all I need to know is that they''re the bad guys." Charging at the scar faced man again, Grim had prepared a countermeasure to deal with any outside interference. Seeing Grim charge them again, the hooded henchman that used mist magic raised his hand again. "Fool." [Mist Magic: Illusion Swirl] Blasting another spiral shaped attack at him, Grim grinned as he remembered one of the Breath of the Beast spells that he had previously found ridiculous. [Eleventh Fang: Sudden Throwing Strike] While his swords couldn''t negate magic like Asta''s, it was still useful when he needed to cut through something magic based. Throwing both swords at the mist attack in a rotating fashion, the blades easily passed through the mist splitting it in half and creating a long passage wide enough that Grim blitzed through it before the mist could reformed. "What the h- Jumping in the air, he switched from Breath of the Beast to Breath of Thunder. [Third Form: Thunder Swarm] "Shields!" The scar faced man yelled when he saw the speed of the attack. Opening their grimoires, the hooded men used compound magic to create various ice shields. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* "YOU GUYS ARE WILD!!" Falling through the air, Grim laughed with an unsettling amount of glee in his voice. "Oh no... He''s lost it." Magna muttered. [Breath of Flames- 9th Form: Rengoku] Slashing down with his flaming katana, a beam of concentrate fire shot down from the sky and towards the scarred man and his companions. "BURN!" "SHIELDS!!" *BOOM!!* Creating a loud explosion upon contact, a devastating shockwave shook the village while a large cloud of steam spread from the attack''s epicentre and encapsulated Asta and the rest of the villagers. "Woah, steam." Regrouping with Asta and the rest, Grim couldn''t help but admire his work. "You went overboard idiot!" Noelle chastised. "How dare you delay me... HOW DARE YOU!!" "Huh?" Hearing the scar faced man''s voice errupt from the cloud of steam, Grim and the others were quite surprised when it all cleared away and the scarred man stood before them with several burn marks on his face and body. His companions weren''t much better off as their robes had been burnt and several ice shards were sticking out of their bodies. "Wow... You guys look like shit." Grim commented after seeing them. "ARRRGHHHH! KILL HIM!" The scarred man screamed venomously. With anger and hate flashing through their eyes, the previously hooded henchmen raised their hands and performed another compound magic spell. [Compound Magic: Cage of Infinite Hail] ''I... don''t think I can block that many.'' Combining multiple ice and mist based magic spells, the scarred faced man and his companions created countless icicles that surrounded Grim and everyone else from all directions. ''Well shit.'' Looking and the near endless amount of icicles ranging from all sides, Grim couldn''t help but swear. If it was him alone, he was confident that he could potentially protect himself by using Thunder Swarm. Unfortunatley for him, he couldn''t guarantee that the villagers wouldn''t get caught in the crossfire and be electrocuted to death. With no other choice, he chose to keep using Breath of Flames. "Any bright ideas senpai?" He raised his sword and asked Magna. "You wouldn''t happen to have an ice sword wouldya?" "Not at the moment." "Then we''ll do it the old fashion way." "Which is?" Pushing his glasses up on his face, Magna grinned. "Bulldozing our way to the finish line." Chapter 16 - A Magic Knights Duty [4th Form: Blooming Fire Undulation] [Fire Magic: Exploding Fireballs] *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* While Grim and Magna used fire spells to defend against the icicles, Asta used his anti magic sword to slash at the incoming ice projectiles. "Mommy!" One of the village kids cried. "Its okay honey, the magic knights will protect us." Seeing that Grim and his companions were still standing despite the efforts of him and his companions, the scar faced man lost his temper again and raised his hand. "Melt!!" Using magic to break the ice shards into smaller pieces, the scar faced man smiled while the Black Bulls were starting to feel the effects of fighting against an opponent that outnumbered them. ''Dammit! My magic won''t last long at this rate.'' Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Magna started to curse internally. [Exploding Fireballs] [Exploding Fireballs] [Exploding Fireballs] *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Watching the chaos unfold around her, Noelle tightened her fists and turned to look at the scar faced man and his companions. ''If I can interrupt their casting we''ll be able to turn this situation around.'' "STAY BACK NOELLE!!" Magna yelled after seeing what she was about to do. Her magic was too unstable and if she used it in such a delicate situation, she might end up causing more harm than good. [Blooming Fire Undulation] *BANG!!* Jumping in front of her and getting rid of a small army of icicles, Grim looked at her with clear annoyance. "Don''t get in the way if you can''t contribute." ''Am... Am I just a burden...'' "Asta! Magna needs some help!" "Got it!" ''Is there any point of me even being here...'' "Grim!" "I''ve got it!" Hearing the struggles of her squadmates, she couldn''t help but feel powerless. "DIE DAMN YOU!! DIE!!" The scar faced man and his henchmen screamed while increasing the number of ice shards. [A/n: They seem really pissed off...] ''Am I... really this useless...'' While Noelle was having a minor breakdown, a small village girl with tears in her eyes crawled over to her and tugged on her clothes. "Huh?" "Miss magic knight please, please save us!" "Dammit Asta! Cover Magna!" Grim''s voice sounded out. "I''m trying!" "Shit! I''m almost out of mana!" "Asta!" ''I can do it to.'' "Grim!" ''I can be useful.'' "Magna!" ''I can also save people.'' "KILL THEM ALL!!" ''I-I CAN ALSO BE A MAGIC KNIGHT!!'' *BOOM!!* "Huh?" Feeling a large amount of magic power, the black bulls and the scar faced man couldn''t help but stop their attack. "This magic power..." The scar faced man muttered. "What the hell!!" Magna said in shock after looking behind him. Bursting out with bright blue light, Noelle''s grimoire appeared in front of her with freshly written new pages. Crouching down, Noelle slammed her hands down on the ground and impulsively activated her new spell. [Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon''s Nest] Springing from her well of mana, a large dome of water composed of multiple whirlpools manifested itself around the Black Bulls and the villagers. "WHOA! Go Noelle!" Asta praised. Intercepting the hundreds of icicles, the large dome protected everyone and shielded them from danger. "Haha! I told you could control your magic if you tried!" Magna smiled while marvelling at her crazy amount of magic power. "Hmm, I guess you''re not completely useless." Grim complimented. "Heh, of course." Noelle stood proudly and accepted all of the compliments while looking at the villagers. "Magic Knights protect everyone." "Well then." Grim stretched. "Since the villagers are being protected, why don''t we take the fight to them eh Asta?" He grinned. "Right behind you." He brandished his sword. "Damn them, damn them, DAMN THEM!!" The scar faced man screamed while his henchmen looked at him with worry. "H-Heath-sama- Before they were able to finish their sentence, Asta and Grim burst out from the water dome and charged towards them. "THIS IS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE YOU''VE HURT!!" Asta yelled. Using Breath of the Beast to keep up with him, Grim lagged behind slightly but watched as Asta''s sword struck the scar faced man''s ?h?st. *BANG!* "Urk!" Having his lungs damaged by the blunt trauma, the scar faced man coughed up a small mouthful of blood. "HEATH SAMA!!" "Did he get him?" Noelle and the others watched from behind the protective water dome. "Heh." Heath suddenly smiled. ''What!'' Realizing that something was wrong, Asta looked down at his feet and saw a sheet of ice under them. ''Oh no.'' Placing ice beneath his feet, the scar faced man known as Heath destroyed Asta''s balance and killed his momentum. Thrown back by the attack, the disgusting smile on Heath''s face was all to visible to the now stuck Asta. "Even if your sword can negate magic... your body doesn''t." [Ice Magic: Heavenly Ice Fang] Thrusting his hand forward, a large icicle shot out of the ground and piereced towards Asta. "ASTA!!" Noelle and the others screamed. [Breath of Flames- 2nd Form: Rising Scorching Sun] Flashing in front of him, Grim''s flame covered katana swung up and created a flaming fire wheel that easily dealt with the giant icicle. "You didn''t forget about me did you?" "YOU!!" "Me." He grinned. "Thanks Grim, you really saved me there." Asta breathed a sigh of relief after not getting impaled. Instead of answering, Grim gave the guy a thumbs up much to Heath''s annoyance. "WHY! WHY DO YOU KEEP INTERFERING!" "Cause its fun." "ARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!" Heath screamed and grabbed the sides of his head. "Yo Asta." Grim called out while Heath was having a meltdown. "Yeah?" "Do you wanna deal with this guy or his lackeys?" Taking a moment to look at the villagers inside the water dome, a look of resolution appeared on Asta''s face as he turned back to Grim. "I''ll take him." "Heh, then make sure you don''t lose." "As if." He smiled. Fist bumping each other, Grim charged past the wailing Heath and ran towards the lackeys. "GET BACK HERE!!" Heath screamed and shot an icicle towards the running Grim. *BANG!!* Jumping in front of the icicle, Asta blocked the attack with the flat part of his sword. "Sorry, but your opponent is me!" --- "Oh shit he''s coming!!" "Fuck this! I''m OUT!!" "RUN!!" [Breath of Thunder- 3rd From: Thunder Swarm] Grinning at their retreating figures, Grim showed no mercy as he released his lightning spell. *CRACKLE* *BOOM!!* "WAAAHHHHHH!!!" "NOOOOO!!!" "IT BUURNNNNSSSSSS!!!!" Spamming the spell on repeat, Grim watched as their figures slowly turnt crisp black after suffering through multiple sessions of electrotheraphy. Chapter 17 - Friendship By the time Grim had finished playing with his toys, Asta had dealt with the leader of the hooded men. *Whistle* "Not bad Asta, not bad at all." Grim smiled and rolled up to him. Breathing heavily, Asta smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Good job guys." Magna walked over with Noelle and the rest of the villagers. "Hmph, if you could even do this much there''d be no way you could be in the same team as me." Noelle said with her usual tone. Laughing at her tsundere act, the villagers praised them before getting everything back in order. "Now then." Magna stretched and looked over at Heath and his unconscious men. "Lets deal with these guys." [Fire Restraining Magic: Flame Rope Solid Binding Formation] Opening his grimoire, Magna raised his hand and made flame based rope restraint appear on the bodies of their fallen enemies. "Well aren''t you just full of tricks." Grim muttered. "Magna!" Asta suddenly shouted and pointed at one of the henchmen. "Huh?" Standing next to each other, the squad of black bull members watched as one of the henchmen turned into mist and escaped their bindings before disappearing with the wind. "...." "...." "...." "....So one got away. Who cares! As long as we got the leader its still a win in my book!" Sighing at the henchman''s escape, Grim turned to look at Magna. "So what now? Do we call for reinforcements to pick them up or something?" "Nah, we''ll question them first. Help me sit them upright." Nodding their heads, Asta and Grim gather up the rest of the henchmen. "Eh?" "What''s wrong Asta?" Before he could answer, the group saw some shuffling inside his shirt. "What''s that?" As if to answer their question, an anti-bird flew out of Asta''s clothes and disappeared into the air. "...Are you hiding breadcrumbs or something?" --- Rousing from their slumber, Heath and his henchmen found themselves bounded by some weird fire binding while Magna and his team stood in front of them. ''I can''t use my magic...'' Seeing Asta holding onto his grimoire, Heath frowned. "Finally awake huh." Magna spoke up. "After I finish resting up, your ?ss is going straight to magic jail." ''Why does that sound so ridiculous when he says it?'' "I see... I failed..." "Damn right you did! Now you''ll pay for everything you did to those villagers." Lowering his head, Heath looked down at the fire bindings. ''So they sealed my magic.'' "Then you''ll explain everything to the magic knights." Magna continued. "Including who you are and why you attac- "I refuse." Heath interrupted before looking at Grim. "Its a shame that I couldn''t kill you with my own hands, but it looks like this is as far as I go." "Huh?" Not understanding what he meant, the group were taken aback when a purple light started shining from his abdomen. "A magic tool!" Magna spat. "To think the last thing I''ll see before my death is the face of that dispicable brat..." [A/n: You could always close your eyes... or look at the sky.] [Ice magic: Ice Burial] "....He chose death over the fear of dropping the soap... I can respect that." "What?" "Dunno." Grim shrugged. "I felt like it was the most approriate thing to say considering the situation. Anyway, lets go home, I''m starving." "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!!" Asta suddenly grabbed his collar and shouted. "Someone just died in front of us! How can you be in the mood to joke around!" Having retained some of his core memories, Grim''s current personality was quite close to the version of him that returns to the God realm with all the memories of his past reincarnations. He had seen enough death to last several lifetimes, and while the current Grim may not remember seeing those deaths from his other incarnations, the emptiness he felt when he saw death remained ingrained into who he was. So to answer Asta''s question, Grim simply shrugged his shoulders and replied without a hint of emotion in his voice. "People die everyday, if you let the death of a stranger affect you this much, then you''re not suited to be a magic knight much less the Wizard King." "What did you say!" Asta tightened his grip. "STOP IT!" Magna suddenly shouted and separated them. "Both of you chill." --- Sitting on the roof of one of the village buildings, Grim watched the distant sunset and spoke to Magna who had climbed up behind him. "Where''s Asta?" "With Noelle." "I see..." *Sigh* "About what you said before- "You can''t coddle him forever Magna, as a magic knight he has to get use to the possibility that he''ll see death on both sides of the fence." "I know... But its his first mission, he shouldn''t have to think about these things so early in his career." "Its better if he learns earlier." "Y''know, I''m actually not from Nairn." "What?" Magna looked at him with some confusion. "5 years ago I woke up in the middle of a forest that bordered the Clover Kingdom. I had no memory of who I was, how I got there, or if anyone was coming for me. I didn''t know if my parents had abandoned me or if I had simply wandered around and had gotten lost. Can you guess what I did? I waited. And waited. And waited some more, and y''know what? No one came to get me. I waited so long that I learnt that if I didn''t want to become some animals next meal, I''d have to do what was necessary no matter how messy the situation was." What Grim was saying was actually the truth from a technical stand point. He didn''t actually know if God had transported his soul and memories into someone elses body or if he had just created a new one from scratch. It was also true that he had no memories besides the one he had when he first woke up 5 years ago. For all he knew this body could have actually have had parents waiting for it. "I didn''t know..." Asta''s voice rang from behind. "Huh?" Turning around, Grim was surprised to see Asta standing there. ''Oh yeah... he has no mana so I can''t track him.'' "Asta- "I''m sorry!" Asta suddenly bowed. "I didn''t know about the struggles you''ve had to face nor what you''ve been forced to do. But even so... I don''t want to solve all my problems through bloodshed!" *Sigh* ''He''s a stubborn one...'' Grim suddenly smiled. ''But I can''t say I hate that about him.'' Getting up to his feet, Grim walked over to Asta while the light of the distant sunset hit his back. "Y''know that the Wizard King has probably spilt a lot of blood right? Do you honestly think that if you become the next Wizard King that you''ll never be put in a position where you''ll have take a life in order to save one?" "No... You''re probably right about the Wizard King and what I''ll have to do if I ever become one... But even so... I''ll only do it if I can''t do anything else. If there''s other ways to solve disbutes without violence then I''ll do everything in my power to achieve it!" Seeing the resolve in the gray haired boy''s eyes, Grim felt a smile creep onto his face. "You really believe that don''t you." "Yeah." He nodded. "Heh, then I''ll be watching closely Asta." He smiled and held his arm out. Seeing this, Asta clasped his forearm and return Grim''s smile with his own. "Then watch as closely as you can, because I''ll be the best Wizard King in history." Chapter 18 - Market After making up with Asta, Grim and the rest of the Black Bulls were given a gracious send off by the villagers and eventually left the area of Sosshi village on their brooms. Unfortunately not all was well, before they had arrived and stopped Heath and his men from slaughtering everyone, the mayor of Sosshi village took a stand against the invaders and sadly lost his life in the process. So while Asta, Noelle and Grim were happy over the fact that they had completed their first mission, the villagers were still in a state of mourning. --- -Black Bulls HQ- "Hahahaha, congrats on completing your mission." Yami congradulated them once the four of them had settled down. "You guys somehow managed to turn returning a favor into a magic knight sanctioned mission! You guys are seriously hilarious! Look, we even got a star from the Wizard King." Pulling out a small white star, Yami showed it off to the quartet. "Wait seriously!" Magna exclaimed after seeing it. "Woah! Its a star..." Asta''s eyes widened. While the two of them were ogling the star, Grim asked the real question. "What''s so important about getting a star from the Wizard King?" "The stars represent our ranking amongst the magic knight squads. The squad with the most stars is publically recognized as the best." Vanessa commented as she casually walked past them. "The current squad that is recognized as the best is the Golden Dawn with 70 stars." "Yep!" Yami smiled and put the star on a wall filled with ominous black stars. "Now we have negative 30 stars. Good job runts, here''s your pay." "Pay?" Grim looked up questionably. "Yeah." He grinned and through over a small bag of cash. "What a small amount." Noelle mummbled. Catching it, Grim and the others were thoroughly confused. "I thought you said that we weren''t gonna get paid." "Hmm." He hummed. "After getting your report, the Wizard King deemed your actions as offical magic knight business." "Oh." ''Well I won''t say no to earning money.'' Pocketing the cash, Grim was about to bid his farewells to his group and go look for Luck. "Hey Grim!" Vanessa called out before he left. "Yeah?" He turned around. "Since you guys have just gotten your first pay check, as your senpai I thought it''d be appropriate for me to take you around Castle town." "Castle town? No thanks." "Ah c''mon." She slid over to him. "Don''t you want to spend some time with your Onee-san?" She said in a flirtatious manner. "Not especially." He rejected and removed her hand off his shoulder. "Hmm." She frowned before smiling again. "If you come with us, the first round of drinks will be on me." She whispered into his ear. ''Is this drunkard really trying to bribe me with booze?'' "C''mon Grim!" Asta ran over. "Even Noelle''s going." "I am?" "I''d rather spar with Luck." Grim commented ignoring Noelle. Hearing this, Asta started thinking of ways to convince him to join them. ''I got it!'' "If you come with us, I''ll spend all day sparring with you." "Seriously?" Grim raised an eyebrow. "Yeah!" While sparring against Luck was fun and all, but fighting against someone who could negate his magic and force him to adapt to an unfavourable situation was more appealing in Grim''s mind. Therefore he agreed to Asta''s bribe without any hesitation. "Deal!" --- "Urgh its the Black Bulls." "Dammit! Why are they here?" "Not these guys again!" Arriving at Castle Town''s marketplace, Grim''s group was quickly recognized as members of the Black Bulls by their magic knight robes. ''We really aren''t popular...'' Ignoring the stares of the surrounding public, Grim''s attention was drawn to Noelle''s figure. While he couldn''t say that he had the best impression of her, his previous hypothesis on how he unlocked more breath styles came to mind after seeing what she did during the Sosshi Village rescue mission. If he was right about needing to be hit by different elements in order to unlock more styles, then it would be logical that getting hit by some moderately powerful water spells could potentially help him unlock a water breath style if one existed. There was only two issues with train of thought. First of all, the amount of damage he took from Theresa and Luck were different and the time needed for the style to awaken also differed greatly. He guessed that the damage he took coralated with the time needed for the style to awaken. This was problematic because Noelle''s magic control was not exactly the greatest and she could possibly end up killing him by accident. The second issue was Noelle herself. Just the thought of him needing to ask her for help made his skin crawl. He didn''t know if it was due to his pride or something else, but he knew that asking her was definitley out of question. ''I really wish I knew some water mages...'' "Hey look! Its that s?xy alcoholic from the Black Bulls!" Someone pointed at Vanessa. "Oh my God! That silver haired girl is so cute!!" "Where exactly are you taking us Vanessa?" Grim spoke up. "Hihihi, to the black market of course." --- Not finding interest in any of the wares inside the black market shop, Grim chose to stay outside and pass the time. ''Would ice magic work as well? Do I even have an ice style? Would it count as a water style? What about the other elements? I already have fire, it''d make sense if there was a water, wind and earth style...'' While Grim was lost in his thoughts, he was suddenly interrupted by a sudden yell. "THIEF!!" "Huh?" *SWOOSH!!* Brushing past him at an incredible speed was a hooded guy dressed in all black. ''What the hell?'' "MOVE!!" Asta''s voice suddenly sounded out from behind before jumping over him and chasing the hooded guy. ''.....Well this seems more interesting than just standing here.'' Pushing his previous thoughts aside, Grim activated Breath of the Beast in order to catch up with Asta. *FWOOSH!!* "GIVE BACK GRANNY''S MONEY!!" Asta shouted and pulled out his grimoire. ''Oh, there was a robbery...'' Pushing forward, Grim finally managed to catch up to Asta while he was pulling out his greatsword from his grimoire. ''That gives me an idea.'' "Asta!" He suddenly yelled and switched to Breath of Flames. "Eh?" Surprised by Grim suddenly yelling out his name, Asta turned back to look at him. Seeing Asta slow down, Grim smiled and raised his sword above his head. [9th form- Rengoku] Slashing down, a powerful beam of concentrated flames shot towards Asta. Understanding what he was planning, Asta held the flat part of his sword in front of him and let the beam of fire hit it. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!!" Noelle screamed after seeing Grim attack Asta. Ignoring her, both Asta and Grim''s eyes met moments before the beam slammed into the sword. *BOOM!!* *FWOOSH!!* Brunting the full force of the blast, Asta was blown off his feet from the impact of the attack and was sent flying towards the escaping thief at a scary speed. If it wasn''t for the weight of his giant sword, Grim couldn''t imagine the speed he would currently be flying at. "Huh?" Hearing the explosion, the thief who was now riding on his broomstick turned to look at the airborne Asta. Using the momentum of the explosion, Asta gripped the hilt of his sword and somehow managed to twist in the air before hurling his sword towards thief like it was a spear. "SWOOSH!!* "SHIT!!" *BANG!!* Faster than he could react, the sword cut through the air at an astonishing speed before striking the ground in front of him causing several small rocks to be sent flying towards him. "Erghhh!!" Covering his face to avoiding getting hit by the rocks, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. [Breath of Thunder- 3rd form: Thunder Swarm] Covered in his yellow aura, yellow coloured lightning crackled along Grim''s figure as he appeared behind the thief. "Oh shi- ARGGHHHHH!!!" Before he could finish his sentence, Grim released a spinning wave of electricity that caused the man to scream his lungs out before collapsing. --- "Here you go granny." Asta smiled while returning the purse. "Oh thank you young man. Here''s a little something for your effort." She slipped a single coin into his hand. "Woah, thanks granny, try not to get robbed in the future." "Lets go Asta, you promised a fight." Grim interrupted feeling uneasy about the old woman in front of them. "Hehe, bye granny!" He waved as they left the old woman behind. "Hmm, what a nice young man." The old woman smiled as magic particles started radiating off her. "The power to nullify magic and use multiple different magic elements... What interesting boys." Once the magic particles vanished, they revealed the figure of Julius Novachrono... the Wizard King. Chapter 19 - A big gamble "How... How are you wining! This is supposed to be a game of chance!" After helping out with the whole Sosshi village matter, Magna invited Grim and the others to the place he and Yami frequented when they wanted to gamble and drink. Overhearing their conversation, Yami somehow managed to invite himself and forced the lot of them to play cards with him. "My wages... My beautiful wages..." Rocking back and forward on the stone ground, Asta stared mournfully at his nearly empty coin purse. "I lost... to a commoner..." Broken up over the fact that a commoner was beating her at something, Noelle found herself in a state of denial as she kept repeating herself while clutching her cards. "Not bad kid, not bad..." Taking in a deep drag of his cigarette, Yami pulled out a large coin purse and slammed it down onto the table. "I''ll raise ya." "Yami!" Magna looked over to him with a stunned expression. Looking at the large coin purse in front of him, Grim who was winning looked at Yami with an unusal amount of confidence in his eyes. "Are you sure you want to do that?" "Yeah." Yami nodded. "Hmm... Don''t you think it looks a little light?" While the memories of his past lives were gone, the lessons Grim had learnt and the things he had experienced were burnt into his very being. So while he may not have a lot of experience in playing this game, he was pretty sure he had played something similar in one of his past lives and was able to subconsciously draw on his past experiences. Hearing Grim''s commented, Yami couldn''t help but frown before placing his Grimoire on the table. "I''ll add this." "Captain!" Magna''s eyes widened. "Hmm?" Grim eyed the black grimoire before shaking his head. "As captain of the Black Bulls, it''d be bad if you didn''t have that so... How about we use Magna''s shades instead." "Eh?" "Deal." Yami agreed without any hesitation. "EH!!" "Its fine." Yami patted Magna''s shoulder. "With the amount of money we''re about to make you''ll be able to buy 10 pairs of shades!" "But that''s only if you win!" "Magna." Yami said in a serious voice. "Have I ever lead you astray?" "...No..." "Then trust me." Seeing the confidence and determination in Yami''s eyes, Magna took in a deep breath and agreed. "Fine." Taking off his shades, he put them up to wager next to the big coin purse. "We''re all in you bastard!" "Good... Good..." Grim smiled before nodding to the dealer. Seeing that all parties were ready, the dealer shuffled the deck before handing the cards out. Taking a look at his cards and then back at Yami''s, Grim took a deep breath before revealing them. Seeing the cards on the table, Yami took a look at his own before placing them face down and looking at Grim. "Grim." He called out in a serious tone. "Hmm?" "As a member of the Black Bulls, I want to teach you about a sacred proverb that we all follow, its called taking one for the team." For the next couple of minutes, Yami went over the meaning of taking one for the team and ended by saying "So you should always put the needs of your comrades first." "I see." Grim nodded. "Good." Yami nodded and continued. "Now lets forget abou- "Before we do that." Grim interrupted, "I want to inform you of a special proverb that I live by, its called Don''t fu?k with me." Hearing his words, the look of relief on Yami''s face quickly faded and in its place was an expression of confusion. "You see Yami, by forcing me to join your squad, you ended up fu?k?n? me, and I don''t like to be fu?k?d with." Grim chuckled lightly. "Now if I was a bigger man with a bigger heart, I''d simply shrug it off and let bygones be bygones... Its just a shame that I''m not that kind of guy. You screwed me over Yami, now I''m returning the favour. But don''t worry, word on the street is you''re already in so much debt that even if you kept all this money and managed to win my share, you still wouldn''t be able to pay it off... Now dealer." He turned to look at the mustached card dealer. "I think its time to bring this game to a close." Nodding his head, the dealer looked at down at Yami''s cards before looking back up at him and raising a brow. Knowing that the dealer was about to ask him to reveal his cards, Yami swore in his head. ''Fuck! If this carries on I''ll be lose everything to that little prick! I''ve got to find a way for him to call the game off...'' While Yami was stuck figuring out how to deal with Grim''s temper, he suddenly got an idea that just might work. "A fight!" "What?" Grim and Magna looked at him with confused expressions. "You like to fight a lot right? If you call this game then I''ll fight you, whaddya say?" Yami laughed lightly thinking that he had found a way to avoid losing more money. It was just a shame that Grim''s next sentence poured cold water all over his plan. "...Who told you I liked to fight?" "Huh?" Both Yami and Magna looked at each other and then at Grim. "I think you guys have got me confused. I don''t like to fight, in fact I don''t even like violence." ''Doesn''t like to fight?'' "Bullshit!" Yami slammed his hand on the table. "I saw the way you and Luck we''re grinning at each other the other day! You''re both battle maniacs." "Battle maniacs? Luck maybe, but I can ?ssure you that I am not." Grim waved his hand in denial. "Then how do you explain your ?ust for battle?! When we first met you said you wanted to be fight strong opponents and be stronger than the Wizard King! Hell, at Sosshi Village you were laughing like a maniac when you were fighting the scar faced guy and his henchmen. How do you explain that?" Magna asked. "Ah, no wonder you guys are so confused, let me explain what I meant. To put it in simple terms, I can''t stand people that are stronger than me being in my presence. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that someone could crush me and I''d have no way to stop them. Its honestly revolting. So to deal with this problem of mine, the solution I came up with was to simply be stronger than everyone else. This way I can use my power to lord over everyone without having to worry about anyone beating me or defying my will. So to wrap this conversation up, the reason I fight so much is so I can show off my power and thoroughly crush anyone who had any pitiful intentions of challenging me and my actions..." "That... sounds very ominous." Magna muttered. "But what about your fight with Luck and the henchmen! You were clearly enjoying yourself." "Yeah." Grim nodded in agreement. "I can only measure how dangerous someone is by fighting them... In our captain''s case, his aura alone is enough to deter me from fighting him for the time being. As for the reason I was laughing while fighting Luck and those henchmen, I was simply happy at the fact that they were at a level of power that I could deal with." "But that doesn''t explain why you keep inviting Luck to a fight every chance you get." Grim shrugged, "Its the only way I can monitor his growth and ensure that he''s not a level that surpasses my own." "Wow..." Yami commented. "You''re one despicable kid." "Wait a second!" Noelle suddenly spoke up. "You said you laughed because Luck and those hooded guys were at a level you could handle... But you''ve been laughing and smiling this whole game!" Chapter 20 - Wizard Kings Request "1, 2, 3, 4, 5... Woah! Your grimoire really has 5 leaves! How has no one mentioned this yet?!" Sitting in Asta''s room, Grim was looking at Asta''s grimoire and counted the clover leaves. Hearing Grim''s questiom, Asta looked a bit lost before shrugging and countinuing his push ups. ''Seriously, how has no one said anything about this guy having a 5 leaf grimoire?'' Remembering how crazy people were acting at the magic knight''s exam after discovering that Yuno had a 4 leaf clover, he found it quite strange that no one was going crazy over Asta and his 5 leaf book. Yeah he might not have any mana or magic power, but for a kingdom that judges someone''s potential based on their clover count and mana capacity, it was weird how ostracized Asta was. Never the less, Asta was taking all of this in stride so he had no reason to interfere. --- *Deep Breathing* ''Feel the magic... Remember its composition... Relive the pain...'' Sitting on the floor of his room in a lotus position, Grim had his eyes shut tightly and concentrated on his breathing. Since he didn''t want to ask Noelle for help and didn''t know any water mages, Grim came up with the idea of drawing on his past battles in order to stimulate his breath styles and awaken more spells. After the countless number of sparring sessions he had with Luck, he figured that if he was able to recall the feeling he got whenever he was hit by Luck''s lightning, he''d be able to unlock a new lightning spell... Unfortunatley this hadn''t gone to well. After an hour and a half of meditation, he was no closer to unlocking a new spell than he had been before. After beating Yami and the others out of their money a couples of days ago, Grim had focused his attention on enhancing his reaction speed by sparring with Luck. As a result, Grim found himself slowly adapting to Luck''s speed and started to see through his movements. *Sigh* "This isn''t working... I need to get more comfortable." --- "Hey Grim, Yami wants to tal- WHAT THE FUCK!!" Bursting into Grim''s room with undisguised gusto, Magna was shocked at Grim''s current attire. "Why are you n?k?d!" "Hmm?" Opening his eyes, Grim was surprised to see Magna in his room. "Hey Magna." Still sitting cross legged, Grim let everything hang. "Why are you n?k?d? Did you lose at cards?" Shaking his head, Grim quickly explained. "I''m relaxing." "Oh... I get that. Anyway, Yami wants to see you." "I''ll be there in a minute." Watching Magna leave his room, Grim let out a breath as what looked liked steam escaped from his body. ''Its not lightning... but I guess I can''t complain.'' --- "What''s up?" Being the last one to walk into the room, Grim nodded at Luck and Asta while giving Noelle a cursive look before focusing on Yami. "Humph!" Seeing the look Grim threw her way, Noelle''s expression was not pretty. Seeing that everyone was now here, Yami pulled out a report that he had recieved from the wizard king. "Listen up brats, according to this report a new dungeon''s been discovered within the Clover kingdom''s territory." "A dungeon?" Not knowledgeable about such a place, Asta and Grim had confused expressions on their faces as they turned to look at Vanessa. "To put it simply, a dungeon is the ruins of an old civilization filled with ancient artifacts and relics just waiting to be pillaged." She explained. "Ancient civilization!" Asta exclaimed. "Artifacts..." Grim mumbled. "Yeah." She nodded. "But getting these relics aren''t easy. Dungeons are usually filled hundreds of different kinds of traps that stop explorers from reaching these treasures." ''Explorers? Nice way of not calling themselves treasure hunters.'' Seeing that the conversation was coming to a halt, Yami continued reading from the report. "While the dungeon is technically within the kingdom''s territory, it also borders on the edge of an enemy kingdom''s territory. So to ensure that they don''t get any of the good artifacts that could be used against us, our job is to clear the place out before those fu?kers get there." ''Enemies from another kingdom... Chances are that they''ll send strong mages in order to make sure that they get the artifacts without a hitch.'' Thinking about how there could be people stronger than him appearing in the dungeon caused Grim to feel an uncomfortable amount of annoyance. "I volunteer." "ME TOO!!" Asta jumped in. "Obviously you two are going." "Huh?" Both of them said in union. "I don''t know how you did it, but for some reason the wizard king personally picked you two for this mission." "EH!!" Everyone looked at the two boys before surrounding them. "When did you guys meet the wizard king!" "Did you get to fight him!" "How could the wizard king meet peasants like you and not me!" Looking at the situation at hand, Yami couldn''t help but laugh and turn to look at Luck. "Hey Luck, why don''t you go with them?" "Really?! Hell yeah!!" He cheered. --- "Hey captain." Vanessa smiled and closed in on him with a bottle in hand. Now that Grim and the rest had left for the dungeon, the place had become awfully quiet. "Does the wizard king really know about Asta and Grim?" Taking a puff of his cigarette, Yami answered her while reading a newspaper. "He''s the wizard king, he''s got eyes everywhere." "I get that, but why would he single out Grim and Asta?" "Who knows, that old man''s in a world of his own." *Sigh* "I hope they''ll be okay." "They''ll be fine. With Luck escorting them I''m sure they''ll be able to deal with any problems if they pop up." "Yeah but... This is Luck we''re talking about. We''ll be lucky if him and Grim don''t start fighting each other." "...I''m sure they''ll do it in moderation." "..." Chapter 21 - Diamond Mages ''So this is a dungeon...'' Walking into a giant stone ruin followed by Luck, Asta and Noelle. Grim took in a deep breath as he felt the mana flowing through the stone constructs. "This place is huge..." Seeing the look on his face, Luck walked up next to him. "It''s held up together by magic." Nodding his head, Grim activated Breath of the Beast and used his enhanced senssory abilities to feel a large gathering of mana running through everything. "This place is amazing!" Asta exclaimed while looking around. "So much mana..." Noelle muttered. Running around the area like a headless chicken, Asta checked over everything while taking in the sights. Still using Breath of the Beast, Grim''s danger senses suddenly went off as his attention was drawn to the area Asta was heading in. "ASTA STO- *BANG!!* "Eh?!" Seeing the glowing light appear beneath his feet, Asta''s eyes went wide as iron spikes shot out of the ground and struck towards him. *SWOOSH!!* Pulling his sword out at the last minute, he b?r?ly managed to cut down the spikes before they could impale him. Jumping back, a small bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he realized just how close to dying he was. "What the hell was that?!" He asked with a hurried breath. "A magic trap." Luck walked over to him with a smile on his face before pushing him forward and causing him to step on another trap. --- "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!!" "It was fun." Luck smiled before turning to look at Grim. "You sensed it didn''t you?" "Yeah." Grim grinned and nodded. "Erm... What are you two talking about?" Noelle asked. After using his Breath of the Beast''s senssory abilities, he had long since sensed multiple different mana signatures coming from the upper levels. It was a shame that he was too far away to guess how strong they were or if they posed any threat to him. Thinking that he had discovered them before the others, he had planned to slip away from his group while they were treasure hunting in order to confront the unknown group. Unfortunately, it seemed like Luck''s senssory abilities were nothing to laugh at as he had also discovered them. "Race you." [Lightning Creation Magic: Thunder God''s Boots] Clading his feet in lightning magic, he grinned at Grim before running into the distance. Not wanting Luck to get ahead of him, Grim focused power into his feet as he used the physical enhancements he recieved from Breath of the Beast to chase after him. Watching the two of them run off to an unknown location, Asta and Noelle stood stunned not knowing what to do. "...I guess we should look around..." --- "Ahahahaha, I''m gonna win!" Luck''s voice echoed throughout the vast ruin as he kept increasing the distance between him and Grim. Gritting his teeth, Grim did his best to push himself in order to keep up with Luck''s insane speed. But while he may have adapted to Luck''s speed during combat, it was too far fetched to say that he could keep up with him in terms of pure speed. "Woah! There''s loads of guys here." Luck''s voice reverberated through the hall and into Grim''s ear. ''Damn it!'' Following the trail Luck had left behind, Grim eventually took a sharp left and came into a large area surrounded by ankle high water and 4 different mages dressed in weird clothes and sporting the Diamond kingdom insignia. "DIBS!!" Luck''s voice rang out from above as he dropped down from the sky. "Eh?! Clover kingdom mages." Surprised by the sudden appearance of the two boys, the diamond mages nodded at each other before getting into a battle formation. "Ants..." From the amount of mana that he could sense from them, Grim determined that these guys posed no significant threat to either him or Luck. But since he was slightly pissed over reaching this place behind Luck, he couldn''t help the creepy smile that was slowly etching its way onto his face as he found something to take his frustrations out on. *BOOM!!* Releasing an absurb surge of magic power that caused the ankle high water to go into disaray, the two beast swords materialized in his hands radiating soft gray light. Being slightly pushed back by the sudden magic release, the mages of the diamond kingdom felt their bodies tense up as a primial sense of danger seemed to be emitting from the black haired boy''s figure. "Going all out from the start huh? Bet I can take out more of them than you can." Luck''s cheery voice sounded out. Looking at Luck and then back at the diamond kingdom mages, the smile on Grim''s face deepend. "You''re on." Focusing all of his attention on his right foot, Grim burst forward and charged towards the nervous mages. "THATS THE SPIRIT!" Luck yelled and followed. "DIAMOND FORMATION 1!" One of the enemy mages shouted before sending a wall of earth at the approaching Grim. Watching the square shaped wall of earth getting closer, instead of slowing down or changing breaths in order to intercept the attack, Grim increased his speed and charged towards it before doing something that no one expected. "What the hell!!" "Nice one Grim!!" Luck laughed from behind. Twisting in the air, the beast swords materialized back in his hands as he focused his attention on the distant diamond kingdom mages. Taking advantage of the twisting momentum he had gained from vaulting over the wall, Grim used [Sudden Throwing Strike] to throw the swords in a rotating fashion across the long distance before lodging themselves into the ?h?sts of two surprised diamond mages. "Huh?" Surprised by his actions, it took a minute for the diamond mages that had his swords sticking out of them to react. "....AAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" "CHRISTOPHER!!" One of the diamond mages shouted when he saw one of his friends collapse. "My turn!" Zooming past Grim, Luck appeared in front of the last two standing diamond mages. "Down you go." By the time Luck had finished electrocuting them, Grim had appeared by his side and the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder looking at weird black haired man wearing a similar outfit to the diamond kingdom mages that they had just taken care of. "Now would you look at that, two boys brimming with such youthful energy... How frightening." Chapter 22 - Lotus Shortly after Grim and Luck had left them alone, Asta and Noelle ended up running into some old friends. "Yuno." "Asta." Standing ahead of Asta and Noelle were three members of the Golden Dawn. The first one was the black haired childhood friend of Asta''s Yuno, next to him was a girl with vermillion coloured hair with a gentle smile on her face and a voluptous ?h?st that put Noelle''s iddy biddy lil tiddies to shame. [A/n: Don''t know why I wrote that, Noelle''s not even flat...] Standing face to face for the first time since the magic knight''s exam, both boys looked at the other with a competitive fire burning in the other''s eyes. "YUNO!!" Shouting out the name of his squad member, the last person in Yuno''s team took a step forward with a look of disgust that resembled Noelle''s the first time she met Grim and Asta plastered across his face. --- -Deeper in the dungeon- "Seeing as how you''re not panicking, I''m guessing that you''re the boss?" Grim looked at the mustached man who merely smiled back. "Oho, such a wonderful youthful spirit... Must be nice." The man stroked his goatee and answered in a relaxed tone. "Hey Grim..." Luck called his name. "He''s strong..." "I know..." Grim could b?r?ly hold his smile back as the thought of crushing someone who he recognized as strong nearly pushed him over the edge. Seeing the fire in his eyes, Luck''s own smile grew wider. "So... Who gets him first?" Watching the two young men converse, the diamond kingdom mage observed the two of them closely noting down a couple of things in the process. From Luck, he noticed that he had clad his limbs in lightning armour and most likely used them enhance his speed and close quarter abilities. Grim on the other hand was easier to read as his previous fight showed off his innate agility and accuracy with those jaggered swords of his. From this he guessed that he was a similar to Luck, a close quaters fighter. But having made it this far in his career, he didn''t opt out the possibility that they could use long distance spells. "Hey old guy!" Grim called out. "Hmm?" He lifted up his head. "We''re having trouble deciding which of us should fight you first so can you do us a favor a decide for us?" ''Well... it would be quite troublesome to fight the two of you at the same time... I guess if I had to choose an option it would be NIGERUNDAYO!!" [A/n: That is what us cultured men call a high class reference] "Huh?" Confused by what he had just said Grim and Luck stood stunned by his words while he proceeded to run away. "..." "..." "...First one to land a hit on him gets to fight first?" "Deal!" --- "Looks like I''ve escaped fufu." While the blacked haired man was chuckling to himself, his body sudden jumped to the left as his danger senses sky rocketed! And lucky for him he did, if he was any slower than that, Grim''s beast swords would have impaled him from behind. "What a dangerous young man." Watching the swords fly off into the distance, the goatee man felt a single bead of sweat roll down his cheek." "YOU''RE MINE!!" Appearing above him clad in his lightning armour, Luck outstretch hand reached for him. Not wanting to be caught by him, the goatee man waved his hand in front of Luck and created a large smoke cloud that engulfed himself and a bit of the surrounding area. *SWOOSH!!* "Huh?" Passing through the smoke and appearing on the other side, a look of surprise appeared on Luck''s face. "Smoke?" ''Smoke?'' Catching up to the smoke cloud, the glow around Grim changed as yellow light congealed on his body. [Breath of Thunder- Third Form: Thunder Swarm] Diving head first into the smoke cloud with a confident look on his face, he released a spinning wave of lightning that attacked all directions. "Oho! Taking advantage of the thick cover of smoke to launch an area of effect attack. Not a bad tactic." Bursting out from the top of the smoke cloud, the black haired man avoided getting struck by Grim''s attack and complimented him on his actions. "But I gotta say, that lightning magic of yours really surprised me, never would have thought that your actual magic would be the same as that other boy''s." Landing back on the ground, the black haired man still had the same relaxed expression on his face as he looked at the two boys. "So young yet so powerful, *sigh* looks like the future of the Clover Kingdom will be a prosperous one. As a citizen of the Diamond Kingdom I humbly ask for your forgiveness for all the grievances that my kingdom has caused you. But you have to understand that unlike our kingdom, yours is filled so much resources that we have no choice but to attack in order to sustain our own. *Sigh* Living can be so hard... You see I have three daughters and I''d hate if they had to suffer becaus- Flashing in front of him, both Grim and Luck slashed down. *BANG!!* "Ah... So much energy." Narrowly dodging their strike, the black haired diamond mage looked at the destroyed area that he was previously standing at. ""I don''t care what your reason for fighting is, as long as I get to fight/crush strong opponents then I''m happy."" Grim and Luck said in union. "Ah, you''re about to make this old man cry." --- *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Having still not managed to land an attack on him yet, Grim and Luck continued their competition as they slowly started destroying the area around them. "So destructive... You guys need to calm that raging spirit of yours if you ever want to attract a nice girl." "Who cares about that!" Slowly adapting to the black haired man''s tactics, Grim and Luck felt the end of their competition closing in. Feeling the pressure on his person build up, the relaxed expression on the black haired man''s face started to become strained as he felt his fatigue slowly catching up with him. "Those robes... You''re members of the black bulls huh." "You know about us?" Grim asked not slowing down his attacks in the slightest. "Ah well, I had a little bout with your captain in the past. He even gave me this lovely scar." The black haired man dodged a bolt of lightning while pointing at a long sword scar on his ?h?st. "Woah! You fought Yami!" Luck exclaimed shooting more lightning at him. "Sure did, he''s the only man younger than me that I was never able to beat." "Who won?" Grim asked slashing his sword at his face. "We got interrupted before we could finish." The black haired man ducked under the sword and answered. "Hasn''t your captain ever talked about Lotus of the abyss before?" "Nope! [Lightning Creation Magic: Thunderclap Crumbling Orb]" [A/n: Honestly triggers me whenever I write thunderclap and not add "and flash" on the end.] "Well isn''t that heart breaking." Lotus responded after avoiding Luck''s lightning orbs. ''If he fought the captain without losing... Doesn''t that mean that if I beat him I''ll be one step closer to crushing Yami?'' Renewed with more fighting spirit than before, Grim couldn''t tell this but his attack speed had suddenly increased by another level. Faced with an even more energetic Grim who was using Breath of the Beast and the annoying attacks from Luck''s lightning orbs, Lotus was slowly starting to be pushed into a corner. ''These kids... they''re evolving in battle...'' "Hahaha! Grim I''m gonna win- huh?" Suddenly losing his sense of balance, Luck toppled to the floor before getting up again. "What the hell?" "So its finally kicked in at last." Lotus laughed and put some distance between himself and the boys. "What did you do!?" "Ah." Placing his hand on his forehead, Lotus made a smug smile. "To tell you the truth, this whole space is concealing my magic right now." "Impossible!" Grim denied. "If that was the case we would have sensed it long ago." "Oh but you did. Its just a shame that with all the magic you two have been throwing around so far, you wouldn''t realize such a weak magic spreading around the area poisoning you while your focus was concentrated on landing a hit on me in order to win your bet." "But when did you have the time to activate it? Me and Luck have been watching you the whole time! There''s no way we''d miss you casting such a spell no matter how covert you were." "You''d be correct in ?ssuming that. Good thing I casted it as soon as you guy came into this area." "You mean before we even fought your minions?" "Yep." "But how would you even know you''d need such a spell in order to defeat us?" "Ah, that youthful radiance you guys were giving off was more than enough to make me cautious." "Erm Grim... " Luck interrupted, "I don''t feel so good." [A/n: *Salutes* Yes I did just add that reference.] "Looks like its already set in." Lotus spoke while looking at Luck''s dreary state. "Now then." He focused his attention back on Grim. "Since you''re about to fall into the same predicament as your friend over there, I sugest you take a long nap and wait until we''re gone." Turning his back on the boys, he waved his hand and set off. "Gone you say?" Grim''s voice reached his ears. "I''m sorry to say this but... I seem to have a bit of resistance to poison." "Hmm?" Lotus stopped in his tracks. "Hey Luck, I guess this means I win the bet by default." "Heh, don''t think you can get rid of me when things have finally started to become fun." Pushing himself up into a standing position, lightning crackled on Luck''s figure as his infamous smile paired up with Grim''s. Seeing the two of them standing up and shaking off the effects of the poison, Lotus sighed and turned back around. "Ah youth... How enviable." Chapter 23 - Disappointment Feeling the outrageous surge of magic power and battle intent flowing out of the two boys, The carefree smile on Lotus''s face was quickly beginning to fade. ''If they continue battling me like this, I''ll eventually tire before getting the chance to complete my mission.'' For the first time since entering this dungeon, Lotus''s carefree attitude faltered as he now looked at the two clover mages as equals. "I gotta say, you boys really surprised me. But *releases his own magic power* its time for you guys to take a nap." *BOOM!!* Without speaking a word to the other, Grim and Luck charged forward at their fastest speeds. "Sorry kids, but I can''t afford to lose here." Seeing them approaching him, Lotus slammed his hands onto the ground and activated a movement sealing spell. [Smoke Creation Magic: Smoke Binding Cross Prison] Shooting up from the ground, the smoke below Lotus''s feet engulfed the two boys before taking on the shape of a cross. ''I can''t move!'' Luck struggled to move as he had nothing solid to push off. "That should hold you guys for a whil-" [Breath of Thunder- Third Form: Thunder Swarm] Using thunder swarm to free his body from the smoke cross, Grim dropped back down to the ground and stared at Lotus. "You really are full of energy aren''t you." "I''m gonna crush you now." Grim replied with a sharp smile appearing on his face. After battling this guy for quite a while now, Grim had already gotten a read on his strength and was slowly becoming more and more confident in dealing with him. And since the bet between him and Luck was still ongoing, he left him in the smoke cross as he faced Lotus. "Crush me? Isn''t that a wonderful thought." [Smoke Creation Magic: Degenerate King''s Smoke Prison] "I didn''t think I''d need to use this spell against someone like you, but at the rate you''re improving I''ll have to make an exception." Activating another spell from out his grimoire, a strong current on smoke started swirling around Grim before trapping him inside a smokey dome. "This won''t stop me." He said to Lotus who merely smiled. "I know, but this will." As if by command, the dome suddenly blasted some smoke at him. "Have fun suffocating in there." *Deep Breath* Taking a deep breath, Grim ignored the smoke and looked at the area Lotus would be at if he could see through the smoke. "You said you fought Yami right?" "Oh? I thought you''d be trying to hold your breath right about now... But if you want to converse then I guess I can fulfil your dying wish. And to answer your question, yes I did fight your captain back in the day." "I see... I think I understand now." Feeling confused, Lotus frowned. "Understand what?" "The Yami you fought was years ago right?" "Yeah." "And with the amount of years that have passed since you fought him, I''m guessing that he''s powered up significantly compared to his past self." "What''s your point?" "My point... My point is that I was wrong about this whole fight. I thought that by crushing you I''d be one step closer to crushing Yami, but after fighting you for a while now... I can tell you''re not even on the same level. He''s left you in the dust. Beating you has little to no merrit now. I wanted to fight someone stronger than me... someone who could push me to my limits and force me to either die or evolve. But you... You are none of those things, you''re nothing more than a clown using cheap parlor tricks to beat your opponents, if it weren''t for your suffocation tactics then I doubt we would have gotten this far. Besides your fighting experience and cunning mind, you are average. I respect you for being able to keep up with me and Luck for so long, but as of this moment, your worth as an opponent is over." Materializing the beast swords in his hands, Grim used [Sudden throwing Strike] to hurl the swords through the dense dome of smoke and right into the ?h?st of an unsuspecting Lotus. Stunned by such events, Lotus stood completely still as the pain in his ?h?st slowly caught up to his brain. "M-My ?h?st... MY CHEST!!" Now that Lotus was distracted by the pain of having two swords lodged into his ?h?st, the smoke dome around Grim was starting to become unstable as it started to tremble. ''Time to end this.'' [Breath of Flames] Looking towards the location Lotus''s scream came from, Grim got into a stance and held the sword high above his head. [Rengoku] "Fire..." *BOOM!!* --- -Dungeon upper levels- *Rumble* *Rumble* "Hmm... What was that?" While Grim and Luck were busy battling Lotus of the abyss, Yuno and his squad were busy dealing with a guy with light purple hair and three small stones embedded in his forehead. "You cannot win, surrender." *Heavy breathing* ''Dammit! Even at full-power Yuno still can''t win.'' Watching the fight from a distance, Yuno''s teammate Klaus couldn''t help but clench his fists as he saw the Diamond Kingdom mage man-handle Yuno like he was nothing. --- "Phew, that was close." Wiping the sweat off of his brow, Lotus b?r?ly managed to escape from Grim''s attack before activating a smoke spell and escaping with his wounded companions. "But still..." He looked back at Grim who was just standing there watching him leave. "Fire, lightning and whatever those jaggered swords were... Could this kid have magic that we''ve been trying to put into our mages? That lightning kid called him Grim, *sigh* I guess I need to report this to my superiors." Now that Lotus was injured and escaping the area, the smoke magic binding Luck eventually came undone as he landed on the ground near Grim. "I won the bet." "I''ll win next time!" He grinned and looked at the distant Lotus. "Aren''t you gonna chase him?" "He no longer interests me, you can go after him if you want." "Nah, he''s your prey." "Woah... Did you feel that?" Luck turned to look at Grim. "Yeah." He nodded. "I guess there''s more fun to be had." "...Race ya." "Your on!" --- "Are you sure this is the right way?" "Yeah." Noelle nodded. "I felt an incredible amount of mana coming from up ahead." "Really! You think its the treasure?" Shrugging her shoulders, Noelle and Asta headed towards Yuno''s location. Chapter 24 - Mars [Crystal Creation Magic: Laevateinn] Standing against Yuno and the rest of the Golden trio, Mars summoned a giant crystal sword above himself. "Give up." "Not a chance." Breathing heavy, Yuno looked at him with defiance. "Then die." No longer wanting to waste words, Mars swung his hand down and let the blade fall towards Yuno''s head. "YUNO!!" Klaus screamed. Seconds before the blade could hit, Asta burst onto the scene with his giant sword in his hand. "Asta..." Yuno eyes widened in surprise. *SWOOSH!!" Swinging the massive black blade, he sent the upper part of the crystal sword flying. "What!" ''Is that... a member of the black bulls.'' Klaus''s mind shook. ''He destroyed my sword...'' Shocked expressions passed through the faces of Mars and the two other members of Yuno''s squad. ''How could we of the Golden Dawn not do anything against that diamond kingdom mage, but the moment this slum rat from the Black Bulls shows up he manages to destroy one of his attacks!!'' While Klaus was distracted by Asta''s appearance, a crystal clone of Mars''s attacked him. "Watch out!" *CRASH!!* "Huh?!" Using his lightning covered boots to shatter the clone, Luck appeared in front of a shocked Klaus. "Hey!" ''Another member of the Black Bulls...'' --- "Hey!" Asta called out to Mars. "Are you the one that did this to the Golden Dawn?!" Looking at the small gray haired boy in front of him, Mars regainned his earlier posture. "What if I am? The weak will perish and only the strong will remain." While he was saying this an army of crystal clone dolls were summoned to his side. Looking at the army of crystal clones, stars shone in Luck''s eyes. "Woah!! This looks like so much fun!!" Hearing him, Klaus gave him a strange look before taking a step away from him. "On the battlefield, the weak have no place. And I was born to break weaklings like you." "And I was born to crush arrogant losers like you." "Huh?" Hearing a voice sounding out from above, everyone looked up only to see a figure falling to the ground. "That robe..." Klaus noted. "Haha, took you long enough to get here." Luck laughed. "Grim!" Asta exclaimed. Using Breath of the beast, Grim landed in front of him and Yuno with an audible bang! "Now then... It looks like someone wants me to crush them." --- Once the dust cloud had settled, Mars was finally able to see the figure of a black haired young man with bright yellow eyes staring at him with a weird smile on his face. "Crush me you say? Well then, let me show you the difference between us." "Asta, Golden Dawn dude, take care of the clones for me, that guy''s mine." Not waiting for their response, Grim kept using Breath of the Beast and charged towards Mars. "Hey no fair!" Luck yelled. "I wanted to take on the boss!" [Crystal Creation Magic: Laevateinn] Jumping into the air, Mars threw several more giant crystal swords at Grim, but due to the physical buffs and heightened senses that Breath of the Beast gave him, it wasn''t to difficult for him to dodge such giant attacks before closing in on Mars. Frowning at the fact that he had missed several times, Mars commanded his crystal clones to swarm him. But before they could reach him, Asta and Yuno stepped in. [Wind Creation Magic: Wind Blades Shower] Firing off a shower of wind shaped blades, several crystal clones were taken care of. *BANG!!* Landing from above, Asta crashed down to the ground and used that big ?ss sword of his take care of several more clones while making an opening for Grim. "Impudent." Pointing his hand forward, Mars fired off another crystal sword that was easily dodged again. ''FAST!'' [Second Fang: Rip and Tear] Summoning out his beast swords, Grim slashed at Mars''s crystal armoured covered ?h?st and left two deep diagonal cuts that drew blood. "H-HE CUT THROUGH HIS ARMOUR!" After seeing a full powered Yuno fail to leave even a scuff mark on the Mars, it was hard for Klaus to not be shocked by what he was seeing. For them, proud members of the Golden Dawn to be unable to leave a mark on their enemy while two commoners from the Black Bulls were able to do something that they couldn''t sent a shock through Klaus''s fragile mind. ''Tch, not deep enough.'' Seeing that small amount of blood on his sword, Grim clicked his tongue before spinning around and using his Breath of the beast enhanced foot to kick Mars into the distance. *BANG!!* "Hell yeah! Nice one Grim!" Asta shouted after seeing him kick Mars away. "The next boss is mine!" Luck added and continued destroying clones. "He actually managed to damage him." Yuno''s eyes widened for a second before returning to normal. "H-How is this possible..." Klaus muttered to himself still unable to believe what he was seeing. "As much as I hate to admit it, that guy can''t be measure using our average means." Noelle stepped up and said. "Noelle Silva..." Ignoring him, she continued speaking. "He''s brash, brutish, has no sense of delicacy when dealing with a woman and is way too good a cards to the point that he''s probably cheating. But when it comes to fighting, he''s really in his element." Seeing the smile on his face, Noelle couldn''t help but also smile as she looked at him and her teammates. Hearing Noelle, the resting Mimosa who had been previously injured couldn''t help but feel happy for her cousin. ''You''ve finally found a place to belong.'' --- While Asta and the others were facing off against the clones, Grim turned to look in the direction that Mars had been hurled to. "I know that you''re not done yet, people of your strength usually don''t go down this quick." As if to answer his provocation, the ground suddenly started to shake as large crystal started to jutt out of the ruins. *Rumble* *Rumble* "There you are." *BANG!!* Exploding out from the ground, Mars was covered crystals from the shoulders down forming a giant suit of heavy armor that towered above Grim and the others. "Who the hell are you?" Hearing the question, the smile on Grim''s face grew wider as he looked up at the towering Mars and pointed one of his beast swords at him with a hint of insanity flashing through his eyes. "I''m the guy that''s about to crush your ribs." Chapter 25 - Treasure "ARRRGHHHH!!!" Angered by Grim''s provocative words, Mars charged towards him in his giant suit of crystal armour and swung his giant fist down at him. "Heh." Grinning at Mars''s rage filled charge, Grim copied his actions and charged towards him with his beast swords in each hand. "GRIM!!" "DIEEE!!!" Hearing the voices of Mars and his comrades, Grim watched as the fist grew larger in his eyes, relying on pure instinct alone, he dropped down to his knees and slid forward b?r?ly avoiding getting his face destroyed by the clump of crystals. Feeling the air pressure from the crystal fist brush against the top of his head, the shadow of the fist briefly covered his body as he slid between Mars''s legs. *Schwing!* *Schwing!* Passing through his legs, Grim''s swords easily slashed through the crystal legs before he span around and charged towards Mars''s back. Having cut through Mars''s support, the giant crystal armour was in the process of toppling to the ground. But before that could happen, like a relentless animal Grim was back on him as he appeared behind Mars and holding his swords in a reverse grip, he ruthlessly stabbed them through the crystal armour had them pierce Mars''s ribs. "AHHHH!!" ''Not exactly crushing them, but good enough for now.'' *CRASH!!* Jumping off before the armour hit the ground, Grim landed several feet away from the downed diamond mage and de-materialized his swords. With Mars''s defeat, the crystal clones that were attacking the clover kingdom mages fell apart as they had no one to control them. "He... He did it..." Still unable to believe what had just happened, Klaus was in a heightened state of confusion as the events of Mars''s defeat replayed in his mind. "Yeah." Noelle nodded and helped Mimosa to her feet. "He did it." --- *Clamp* *Clamp* Locking the unconscious Mars up in Claus''s steel magic bindings, Grim turned to look at the steel mage. "Will they hold him?" After seeing the way in which Grim fought and feeling some of his absurd mana, Klaus had begun to subconsciously treat Grim better. "Considering how wounded he is it shouldn''t be a problem." "Good." He nodded before turning to look at everyone. "Now onto what really matters." He pointed at a large door. "Who gets to go into the treasure room first?" "Ahem." Hearing him, Klaus decided to step forward. "Since we were the first one to find the room, we of the Golden Dawn will be the first one''s to enter." He pushed up his glasses and continued. "However, due to recent events that have taken place, we will allow you to enter as a thank you for your help." "Hey guys, it looks like the door is was made with some powerful magic. I don''t think we''ll be able to get through it using normal means." "Normal means?" Everyone turned to look at Grim and Asta. Asta then made a smug face as he looked at Klaus. "So you can''t get through the door because its made of magic. Well that''s something isn''t it. But you Golden Dawn folks can easily do deal with something like that can''t you?" Listening to Asta''s attempt to sound condesending, Klaus lost all his drive as he realized that his group had no real way to open the door. ''Why are the nobles of this kingdom so weak willed?'' Watching the conversation between Asta and Klaus, Grim sighed and called Asta over. "Can you do it?" "Of course!" He gave him a thumbs up and sliced open the door. While Grim could have done it, he couldn''t be bothered to do the grunt work so he asked Asta if he could do it for him. --- "Woah! Look at all this gold!!" Rushing into the treasure room, the members of the Black Bulls and the Golden Dawn started rumaging around. "So how come your group came as a 4 man team instead of a 3?" Mismosa asked her cousin as they searched the area. "Me, Grim and Asta are all new to the squad and the captain wanted all of us to have some dungeon exploring experience so he had Luck come with us and show us the ropes." "Oh..." Mismosa nodded. --- "Useless, Trash, Garbage." Pocketing some of the gold coins, Grim threw around a couple of magic tools as most of them were useless for someone like him. While he was busy throwing them around, Yuno''s attention was drawn to a weird scroll sitting in on an altar. "Ow, ow! Stop pulling me Nero!" Lead to an ordinary looking wall by his anti-magic bird, Asta started complaining as Nero kept pulling on his hair. Suddenly feeling a strange wave of mana, Grim turned around and saw that Yuno guy holding a glowing scroll. But before he could think about it any further, both he and Luck felt a sinister mana signature approaching them. "EVERYBODY RUN!" Luck suddenly yelled as Mars came bulldozing through the entry way in his giant suit of crystal armour with a bang. "Urgh!" Covering their faces from the dust cloud, a malicious light flashed through Mars''s eyes as he found Grim''s figure located among the treasures. "ARRRGGGHHHH!!!" He screamed as tens of crystals shot out of his body. ''What the hell...'' Staring at the newly awakened Mars, Klaus''s eyes went wide couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Despite having clearly used crystal magic from the moment they had encountered each other, the current upper portion of Mars''s body was bathed in flames. "Flame recovery magic, phoenix feathers robe." ''Flame recovery magic! Its impossible for someone to have more than one element! Is-Is this the result of the Diamond Kingdom''s experiments." Just then, he heard the laugh of someone he was recently aquainted with. "I didn''t think you''d have this more energy left. But now that you''re here, I guess I can fulfil my promise of breaking those ribs afterall." Releasing his own magic, a soft coat of orange light coated Grim''s body as everyone felt the temperature around them rise. "F-Fire magic..." By this point, Klaus was ready to give up being a magic knight as he felt like it was begining to have a negative effect on his heart. Chapter 26 - Forgotten Rage "No No NO!" Jumping in front of Grim, Luck blocked his way. "You got to fight that smoke guy earlier and you''ve already beat this guy before! Its my turn to have some fun!" "What? When I beat this guy he was only using crystal magic. You''re not seriously asking me to give you an opponent who uses two different types of magics are you?" "Yes!" "I refuse. And besides, that guy''s looking right at me." Seeing that Grim and Luck were too busy arguing instead of fighting, Asta took it upon himself to deal with the enemy. "He''s mine!!" Charging forward with his giant sword, Asta prepared to end this fight as quickly as possible. Seeing the orange glow on Grim''s body and feeling the heat radiating off of him, an intense hatred spread through Mars''s heart as he remembered the experiments he had to endure and the people he lost all in order to achieve his current power. But looking at someone like Grim who had an immense amount of mana and was capable of using secondary fire magic without having to go through the same things that he and his comrades had to go through caused a deep seated rage to bubble to the surface. ''Grim''s already taken care of this guy before using only his beast swords as a weapon. If that''s the case then there shouldn''t be a problem taking this guy down with my anti-magic sword.'' Rushing forward with gusto, Asta readied his sword as he closed in on Mars''s hulking figure. Feeling the intense flames of hatred in heart spreading, Mars''s entire body shook as his mana suddenly started to surge and create clusters of crystals all around him. Without taking his eyes off of Grim''s figure, Mars created several harpe shaped blades that spun at a high speed before firing them off at the approaching Asta. "ASTA!!" Noelle suddenly screamed. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* ''So fast!'' ''Dammit! I won''t be able to keep up at this rate!'' *BANG!!* And just like he said, he wasn''t capable of keeping up the with speed of the attacks as he was eventually blown back and sent hurtling into the wall that Nero had previously been dragging him towards. "ASTA!!" Gritting her teeth, Noelle pointed her wand at Mars and prepared a spell. ''I don''t know what those flames of his do, but I''m sure it''d be for the best if I use my water magic to put them out.'' Feeling her mana gathering, an enraged Mars charged towards her and used the moment she was defenseless to swipe at her. "ThE WeAK HaVE NO PlaCe on tHe BaTtlEfiElD!!" "NOELLE!!" Mimosa screamed after watching her cousin get flung across the room like a ragdoll. Running to her side she saw a nasty wound on her stomach. Hearing her scream, both Grim and Luck stopped arguing and finally saw what was going on. "Noelle..." Seeing his teammate lying on the floor with blood spurting out from a wound, the previous smiling Grim stopped laughing. While his relationship with Noelle wasn''t exactly the best, the sight of a teammate approaching death''s door caused something in his soul to shudder. He didn''t know if it was from a past experience or not, but this feeling... He didn''t like it. "Um Grim..." Feeling a weird change in Grim''s attitude, Luck instinctively moved aside as Grim''s mana started to grow and heat the surrounding area. Feeling the sudden rise of temperature in the room, Klaus and Yuno who were both trapped inside crystals looked towards Grim who was walking towards Mars. With every step he took, the temperature rose higher and higher to the point that even Mimosa''s plants on her Princess Healing Flower Robe''s were being affected and drying out. "Grim..." --- -Elsewhere- ''This mana... Its that kid again...'' Feeling Grim''s mana, Lotus looked in the direction it was coming from and realized it was the area that Mars was supposed to be investigating. --- "Heheheh, its really funny." Grim''s laughing voice echoed across the room as he closed in on the enraged Mars who was also being affected by the heat. "I don''t even know why I''m feeling this way right now... but this feeling inside of me... its really unpleasant." While speaking, his grimoire floated up besides him and stared glowing bright orange as new words started appearing on the Breath of Flames page. "Lets forget about what I said earlier in regards to me breaking your ribs okay. Because right now, I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO BREAK YOU." Materializing his flame sword into his right hand, all the previous heat he released into the air started gathering onto him and his sword as he took up a new stance. Blinded by his past memories and hatred of Grim''s abilities, Mars suddenly roared and created another giant crystal sword. [Crystal Creation Magic: Laevateinn] [Breath of Flame- 1st Form: Unknowing Fire] Crossing the space between them in nearly an instant, Grim left a trail of fire in his wake as he suddenly appeared behind Mars with his back to him. "Earlier you said that the weak have no place on the field of battle right?" Feeling an intense heat spreading from inside his crystal armour, Mars started looking around confused as he no idea how Grim had gotten behind him or why he was suddenly feeling hot. "Since you think that way... Do me a favor and get off my battlefield." Feeling the temperature inside his armour rise again, Mars''s eyes went wide as bright orange light burst through the cracks in his armour. *BOOM!!* Watching the crystal armour suddenly explode, looks of shock and awe swept across the faces of the Clover Kingdom mages. Even the injured Noelle couldn''t hide her surprise as she saw Grim standing in the sea of fire surrounded by broken crystals. "Amazing..." Yuno mumbled before tightening his fists. Being at the epicentre of the explosion, Mars''s body now covered in burns was sent hurtling away. *RUMBLE* *RUMBLE* Feeling the ground shake, Grim and the rest of his companions watched as parts of the ceiling started to fall. "The dungeon''s collapsing!!" Klaus yelled. After being knocked unconscious by the explosion, Mars''s crystal had weakened by a considerable amount allowing him and Yuno to break out of their bindings. "We have to go!" "Wait! Where''s Asta?" Someone suddenly asked after not seeing him. "I''m right here!" Bursting out from a destroyed wall and carrying an unfamiliar black sword with him, Asta appeared before everyone else. "Yuno!" Klaus shouted. "I''m on it!" [Wind Creation Magic: Heavenly Wind Ark] Manifesting a large gust of wind under their feet, Yuno brought everyone away from the crumbling area. "Wait!" Grim suddenly shouted. "What about the treasure!" "If we stay we''ll be burried along with it!" Klaus yelled over the sound of the area collapsing. "Tch." Gritting his teeth, Grim looked away from the pile of riches and focused his attention on Asta''s new sword. --- As the Clover mages were escaping, a hidden Lotus deactivated his ace magic spell Hermit''s thick smoke, a spell that had the ability to make its user transparent. "Well then." He walked over towards Mars and the treasures. "Lets get you out of here." Chapter 27 - Aftermath "Whoo!! We made it!!" Bursting out from the collapsing ruin, Asta couldn''t help but cheer as they had avoided getting burried alive. "We''re alive... We''re actually alive!!" Claus screamed to the heavens and kissed the earth once they landed down at a clearing. This whole dungeon exploration ordeal had actually been way more stressful than he had initally estimated. He was honestly just happy to be outside where no rocks were falling on him. "Not a bad adventure." Grim chuckled and looked at the destroyed ruin laying in the distance. "Easy for you to say." Noelle came and stood next to him. "You think?" "Yeah, at least you didn''t nearly die." "True... Your clothes are ripped by the way." "EHHH!!!" "Guys!!" Jumping on them from behind with a goofy smile on his face, Asta wrapped his arms around their shoulders. "We made it." Infected by his enthusiastic energy, Grim smiled back and nodded. "Yeah, we made it." Watching the three of them from behind, both Yuno and Mimosa couldn''t help but smile as their friends finally found people that cared about them and saw them for who they were. "...So isn''t anyone gonna talk about how Grim defeated that Diamond guy?" Luck asked seeing as how no one had brought it up. --- -Back at the ruins- "Those kids really are something." Sitting on his smoke cart with the treasures laying on the back, Lotus talked to the recently awakened Mars. "Lotus..." He sat up. Hearing him, Lotus smiled. "I''m glad you''re okay kid." Looking at the vast landscape laying before him, all the hatred Mars had previously held inside of him seemed to vanish as he took in the breathtaking sight. "Lotus... Thank you." Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Lotus smiled lightly and had the smoke cart turn towards their kingdom. "Lets go home." --- "So... Who are you guys anyway?" "I''m Yuno." "I''m Klaus Lunettes of house Lunettes." "I''m Mimosa Vermillion of house Vermillion." Introducing themselves to Luck and Grim, the squad of Golden Dawn members thanked them for their help in dealing with Mars. "Hey! I''m Luck Voltia!" Rushing up to Yuno, he invaded his personal space until the two of them were only centimeters apart. "You seem strong! Wanna fight?" "Maybe later." Yuno brushed him off and looked towards Grim. "Well I guess this is the first time we''re officially meeting." He said to Yuno remembering him from the magic knight''s exam. "Anyway, I''m Grim of the Black Bulls." "Huh?" Klaus made a weird noise. "What about your family name?" "Dunno." He shrugged. "I''ve got amnesia." "You do!" Noelle suddenly joined the conversation. "What''s amnesia?" Asta asked. "Its where you have no memories." "Oh... I already knew about that." "Huh!" Noelle suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "When did you find out?!" "He told Magna back in Sosshi village." "WHAT!! Why am I the last one to find out!" "I didn''t know either." Luck chimed in. "How horrible." Mimosa said trying to comfort Grim "To not remember a part of your own life... How pitiful." Klaus also tried to comfort him but ended up sounding more condescending than anything else. Yuno on the other hand just said "You have my pity." "I don''t really need it though..." Seeing the downcast looks on everyone''s faces... Well besides Luck''s, he was still smiling. Grim tried to lighten the mood but ended up making it worse. "Relax guys, I remember everything that''s happened in the last 5 years, there''s really no reason to feel sorry for me." "Oh you poor thing. You''re so brave, I wish I knew how to help but the only thing I can offer you is this pouch of money." Saying that, Noelle actually handed him a small pouch filled with money. ''...What the hell happened to her?'' Not seeing any reason to deny the money, Grim graciously took it and headed back to the captial with the rest. "So we''re really not gonna talk about how Grim defeated that Diamond Kingdom guy?" "Later Luck, later." --- "So this is your second anti magic sword?" While on their way back to the capital, the group got to learn about the others''s gain from the treasure room. For Yuno it was the weird new words inside his grimoire that he couldn''t read, for Asta it was his new anti-magic sword. And for Grim it was his pocket filled with a handful of gold coins that he had randomly picked up. ''I should have picked up a relic or something instead...'' Holding onto Asta''s new sword, Grim realized that unlike Asta''s other sword stopped him from using magic when held it, this one was actually his magic and draining him. "Cool isn''t it! Its so much lighter than this one." Saying that, he brought out the blunt sword and stabbed it into the ground. "Yeah... Much lighter... So what''s so special about this one?" "Dunno." He shrugged. "Want to help me find out?" "Well I don''t have anything better to do in the upcoming week so sure." "Can I join?!" Luck popped up from nowhere and asked. "Of course!" He agreed before turning to look at his old friend. "What about Yuno? Wanna join?" "I''ll have to decline, I''m going to focus on trying to decipher the words I got from that scroll." "Boring!" Smiling at his friend''s childish attitude, Yuno focused his attention back on his Grimoire. "What about you Grim? What was that spell you used against that Diamond guy?" "You mean Unknowing Fire?" "Yeah." Luck nodded. "For a second there you were pretty fast." "Not faster than you though." He smiled. "No... But you were much faster there than any other time we sparred." "I guess..." Thinking back on the spell now, Grim felt like he needed to train it as something felt wrong with the way he used it. He couldn''t pin point the exact issue he had with it, but he felt like it was unrefined. But what concerned even more than that was the uncomfortable feeling he felt when he saw Noelle laying in a pool of her own blood. The two of them definitely weren''t close enough for him to be affected in the way that he was. He could only guess that he was carrying a regret over from a past life where he was unable to save a companion of his. And seeing Noelle in such a position must have been some sort of trigger that allowed him to recall the feeling he had felt back in one of his past lives. It was similar to the time he played cards against Yami and the others, while he may not have any memories of the events in his past lives, he was still able to recall certain experiences and feelings. Chapter 28 - Report A week had passed since the whole Dungeon exploration escapade and Grim, Asta, and Noelle were all invited to give their report to the magic knight''s headquarters. Unfortunately, Yami believed that Luck would cause trouble if he went along so he sent on a mission with Magna. Also during the week, Grim and Asta discovered the secret behind his new anti-magic sword. After a bit of trial and error, they eventually found out that this sword could absorb and contain magic before sending it back. --- "ITS SO HUGE!!" Asta exclaimed as he looked at the magic knight''s headquarters. "Keep it down moron! You''re embarassing us!" Noelle chastised. Rolling his eyes, Grim was about to say something but stopped when he saw Yuno and the others from the Golden Dawn ahead of them. Feeling eyes on them, Yuno and his group turned around and raised their eyebrows when they saw Grim and his friends. "Grim!" Klaus ran over to his side and started looking him over. During this past week he was still trying to understand how Grim was able to use fire magic despite using a different kind of magic with his beast swords. Unlike Mars from the diamond kingdom, Grim''s grimoire didn''t look like it had been tampered with and it seemed like his magic was organic. "Boundries dude." "Oh!" Realizing how strange he must look right now, Klaus quickly backed off and gave Grim some breathing room. "Hey Mimosa." Noelle greeted her cousin. "Noelle!" A delighted look appeared on Mimosa''s face as the memory of Noelle laying a pool of her own blood was still fresh in her mind. "Are you okay?! Are your injuries all healed up?! Does it hurt anywhere?!" Seeing how concerned she was for her, Noelle felt a gentle warmth spread through her ?h?st. "I''m fine. Your healing magic was really effective." "Really! I''m so happy to hear that." While the two girls were busy chatting, Asta and Yuno looked at each other before Klaus interrupted and lead the group towards the entrance. "So you guys are here to give in your report as well?" Grim asked while they walked. "Yeah, our captain wanted us to rest first so we waited a week to do it. What about you guys?" Mimosa asked while giving Grim a weird look. After seeing how serious he got after Noelle got hurt, she couldn''t help but imagine what it''d feel like if someone got that upset over something bad happening to her. Not to mention that she thought he looked really cool when Mars''s crystal armour exploded. Just remembering how his yellow eyes glowed in the light of the fire caused her to blush slightly. Hearing her question, Grim started to wonder why they had waited so long to deliver their report to the magic knight''s headquarters. "I guess our captain forgot." Was the only answer he could come up with. While walking forward, the group suddenly stopped after encountering a middle aged man with short messy blond hair and blue eyes standing at the entrance of the magic knight headquaters. ''Who''s this guy?'' Looking at the stranger, a weird feeling wrapped itself around Grim''s heart as he felt the blood in his body start to boil. ''This guy... He''s strong.'' Despite not releasing a ton of mana, Grim could sense that this guy wasn''t someone he could deal with in his current state. Unlike Yami who had an oppressive aura, the aura coming off this guy was too peaceful, gentle even. But something about it filled Grim with a sense of dread. "Y-Your majesty!" Klaus sudden kneeled. ''Your majesty?'' Taking a closer look at the guy, the most noticeable about him was the six pointed blue star on the left side of his forehead. Copying Klaus''s actions, Noelle and Mimosa also kneeled. "Hey Grim." Asta whispered. "Who the flashy old guy?" Shrugging his shoulders, Grim was just as confused as Asta and Yuno. "You fools!!" Klaus suddenly snapped and turned to look at them while remaining kneeled. "How could you not recognize the face of the wizard king Julius Novachrono!" "...EHH!!!" Asta gasped. ''So this is the wizard king... No wonder I feel so uncomfortable around him. This guy''s the top dog of this kingdom.'' "Ahem, I have amnesia so its only natural that I wouldn''t recognize him." Grim commented so as to not look like a fool. "You''re excused Grim, but the other two definitley aren''t! Especially you Yuno! As a member of the Golden Dawn how could you not know the face of the current wizard king?!" "I- "Don''t speak! BOW!!" Grabbing the top of Asta''s head, Klaus pulled him down so that he was kneeling like the rest of them. Following their actions, Yuno also kneeled but never took his eyes off of the wizard king. By the end of it only Grim was left standing. "What are you doing! Bow!" Klaus chastised. Taking a look at the wizard king, Grim felt the blood in his body becoming restless as the thought of bowing to someone who he was planning to overcome didn''t mesh well with him. "I don''t bow." "Grim!" Klaus suddenly shouted. ''Oh?'' The wizard king looked at him with a bit of surprise before stepping forward. "Now, now kids. Lets keep things harmonious shall we?" "Yes your majesty!" Klaus lowered his head. "Great, now follow me, I''ll be the one in charge of overseeing your report." --- After following the wizard king to a weird tower, Grim and the rest reported their findings to the wizard king. Asta presented his sword to him whereas Yuno showed him the unfamiliar words that had appeared in his grimoire. By the time they were finished, Asta was gushing over the wizard king. "Um, Mr wizard king sir, is it okay if I ask a question?" "Go for it." He smiled. "Well... How do I become the wizard king?!" Both he and Yuno spoke in union catching everyone off guard. ''Yuno wants to become the wizard king as well?'' While having not really conversed with him for a long time, Grim thought that he was the m?tur? one in their Asta and Yuno duo. The surprise Julius was feeling only lasted a second as he soon started to chuckle. "So you two are both aiming to become the next wizard king eh? It nice to see young people with such ambition." "I can''t believe it!" Klaus started. "To think that you two would be so tactless as to ask that to the current wizard king. Listen up you two, to be the wizard king you must have a noble heart, the trust of the people and the- "No." Julius suddenly interrupted him with a tone that greatly differed from his earlier casual attitude. "Its merit. The only thing that matters on the road to this position is the amount of merit that you accumulate. Having a noble heart means nothing if you can''t protect those around you, and the trust you''re talking about only comes after you''ve proven yourself through your actions." Listening to the king''s words, a feeling of surprise sprouted from Grim''s heart. He expected the king to say some flowery words like never giving up or some bullshit about working hard, but never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined just how to the point he was. "Do you know what the people of this kingdom want from the wizard king?" Julius continued. Everyone shook their heads. "Merits that prove that they are the best." He then turned to look at Grim. "Do you also aspire to be the wizard king?" "No." He shook his head. "Having a title is nice and all, but I don''t want something that ties me down like your role does." "Oho, then what is it that you wish to achieve by being a magic knight?" "Strength." He immediately answered and clenched his fists. "I want to see just how far I can go relying on my own power." "Is that so..." Julius smiled and turned away. "Before you guys arrived, we were actually in the middle of holding a decoration ceremony for the magic knights who''ve been awarded an outstanding number of stars today." "Decoration ceremony?" Asta repeated with visible confusion. "It''s a ceremony where we award those who have done exceptionally well. I''d like it if you could attend." "Really!" Asta exclaimed. "Of course, please follow me." Without turning back to look at them, Julius headed towards a door with everyone trailing him from behind. "Now Asta and Yuno, you said you wanted to be the next wizard king right? In that case, do you think you''ll be able to accumulate more merits than these guys?" Opening the door, the sight of of two clover kingdom captains and members of nobility enter their eyes. Chapter 29 - Kicking it with Nobility "Now then." The wizard king stood in front of the room. "Lets begin the ceremony." Looking at the current line up, Grim noted everyone''s appearance but with someone like the wizard king standing before him, it was kind of hard for him to focus on anything else. It was like every fibre of his body was fighting to keep him rooted to ground. "With seven stars earned, step forward Leopold Vermillion of the Crimson Lions." ''Vermillion? Isn''t that Mimosa''s family name?'' Stepping forward, a young man with spiky orange hair stood before the wizard king. "Your majesty." He lowered his head. Smiling at his actions, Julius asked him to raise his head. "I hereby grant you the title of intermidiate magic knight second class." He then gave him what looked like a medal or something before giving him some words of praise. Remembering that Theresa used to belong to the Crimson Lions, Grim couldn''t help but take notice of the orange haired young man before returning his attention back to the wizard king. "With six stars earned, Sol Marron of the Blue Roses, please step forward." "Your majesty." A dark skinned woman in a white tube top stepped forward and lowered her head to Julius. "For your dynamic and creative use of your earth magic in the face of danger, I hereby grant you the title of intermidaite magic knight third class." "Thank you your majesty." She bowed and recieved her medal. ''Earth magic...'' Grim''s eyes lit up slightly. The next couple of awards went out to a few more people, most of which didn''t catch his attention. In fact the only ones that caused him to slightly look in their direction was the ones surnamed Silva, and that only because they seemed to be relatives of Noelle and used water and mist magic. "Now then." Julius started. "To thank you all for what you''ve all done for this kingdom, I''ve prepared a little banquet for you all to enjoy. Oh, I almost forgot, I''ve invited some special guests for today." Hearing that, everyone turned to face Grim''s group. "Make sure you get along." He smiled before leaving. Feeling the scorn in their stares, Grim felt his lip twitch as he was doing his best to hold back smiling. "HEY GRIM!! YOU''VE GOTTA CHECK OUT THIS SHRIMP!!" Asta yelled. Having never eaten such expensive food before, Grim happily obliged and went over to Asta. "Erm Grim!" A gentle voice suddenly sounded out behind him. "Hmm?" Turning around, he saw a slightly red faced Mimosa. "D-Do you mind if I eat with you?!" Feeling confused as to why she was asking permission to eat food that the wizard king had provided, Grim merely shrugged. "Knock yourself out." "Y-YES!!" She nodded and followed him to the shrimp table under the watchful eyes of the others. [A/n: Okay, lets be honest, shrimp is the best sea food out there. Yes, even better than lobster.] "You were right Asta, this is pretty good." "I know right! I feel like were kings!!" Hearing the conversation between the two, one of the senior members of the Golden Dawn couldn''t help but look at them in disgust and mutter "filthy commoners." Hearing him, other people also started to voice their complaints. "How dirty, to think that filth like them dare desecrate these walls with their presence." "What was the wizard king thinking when he invited them?" "Just because he has a little bit of mana he thinks he belongs among us." One of them said focusing their attention on Grim. "Humph! I can''t even feel any mana from the other one, I bet they got lucky in that dungeon." --- "Wow, these guys aren''t even trying to whisper." Asta spoke with his mouth full." "They''re probably more skilled at talking than they are at fighting." Grim ignored them and focused on the food. While he admitted that some of the people in the room didn''t look completely weak, none of them were good enough to catch his eye and thus he considered them below him. Listening to them badmouth Grim and the others, Leopold walked towards the Golden Dawn member that started it all. "If we''re talking about commoners, then don''t you also have one in your order?" Turning to look a Yuno, a flash of disgust and malice passed through the Golden Dawn member''s eyes. "He''s nothing more than gutter trash that thinks he''s special because he has a 4 leaf clover. We of the Golden Dawn don''t expect anything from him, we''ll be the ones to bring captain Vengeance''s dreams to fruition, not some slum rat!" Having heard enough, Klaus wanted to speak up for them. "With all due respect sir but- "The same goes for you as well Klaus!" "Huh?" "Fraternizing with lower class beings like it was normal, aren''t you ashamed of yourself!" "I..." "And you Mimosa!" He turned his attention to her. "I heard the while you were in that dungeon, you were immediately injured and had to retreat from the front lines, as a member of house Vermillion how can you stand here proudly!" "I-I''m sorry..." She quickly lowered her head. "Mimosa..." Noelle muttered her name. "Now, now, we can''t forget the most useless fool here can we?" One of Noelle''s siblings said in a light tone before walking over to her. "Hmm?" Listening to the conversation, Grim kept stuffing his face with food which did not help their image. "S-Solid." Noelle trembled. "Not being able to control your own magic, you truly shame the name of house Silva." He smiled before pouring a glass of water on her head. "Hahahaha, you''ve already been disowned and yet you still have the courage to show your face here, how much more shameful can you get?" "N-Nebra." Walking over to her brother''s side, a woman with silver hair also started to mock Noelle. ''Damn these guys are relentless.'' Feeling someone with a larger clump of mana approaching, Grim stopped eating his food and started to watch what was going on. "Big brother Nozel..." Noelle whispered. Drawing attention to himself with his arrival, Nozel of the silver Eagles stepped onto the scene and approached his youngest sister. ''Wow, does everyone in this family beside Noelle have a fu?k?d up hairstyle?'' "Noelle." He spoke in calm tone. "Did you think you were special because of one achievement? Coming here with such gallantry, haven''t you shamed the Silva name enough." "I- "You do not belong here. Leave." Nozel''s words seemed to hit Noelle hard as she suddenly started to shake before lowering her head and walking towards the door. "Y''know." Grim''s voice suddenly echoed out. "I''m not one for teamwork nor do I have any special feelings of community, but I''m getting real sick of listening to you guys talk shit about me and my comrades." Standing up on the table, he turned to look at the people who had insulted him. "Earlier you guys said that I was ???ky because I had a little bit of mana right?" He chuckled lightly before continuing. "In that case it shouldn''t be a problem for you guys to deal with it right?" While saying this he switched to breath of flames and started heating up the surrounding area shocking everyone with his abundance of mana before speaking again. "Now then." He grinned. "Its time for all of you to learn your place." Chapter 30 - Status and Power "INSOLENT PEASANT! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO YOUR BETTERS LIKE THAT!" Hearing Grim insult them, the member of the Golden Dawn that started this mess opened up his grimoire. [Sand Binding Magic: Sandbox] "Grim!" Mimosa yelled in panic while Asta readied his sword. "For all the hype you''ve been giving yourself, I''ve gotta say that I''m quite disappointed." Ignoring the sand gathering around him, Grim looked squarely at the nobles and took a step forward. *BANG!!* Switching to Breath of the beast, Grim took advantage of the fact that his physical stats were boosted to flash in front of the sand mage. "What!!" Escaping the sand cage before it had finished forming itself, everyone in the room looked in shock as Grim suddenly appeared in front of one of their comrades. "Heh." Not wanting to waste the use of his sword on these self loving retards, Grim''s right hand formed itself into the shape of a fist as he swung it and landed a powerful right hook on the face of the sand mage. *BANG!!* "URRGGHHHH!!" Since mages didn''t train their bodies and couldn''t endure much physical attacks, the sand mage was blown off his feet and was sent hurlting across the room until he crashed into one of the buffet tables. *Silence* "Now then..." Grim stood up and released an intense aura. "Whose next?" "Hahahaha, looks like the Golden Dawn mages aren''t as good as they present themselves to be." Solid laughed as his grimoire flipped open. "Now let me show you how a real mage takes out the trash." [Water Binding Magic: Sea Serpent Twine] Taking the shape of a snake, a long water thread struck out towards Grim. While this would be a good time to get hit by some water magic so he could get water breathing, the smug look on Solid''s face caused him to throw that notion away. "So the little rat knows how to jump." Solid laughed before changing spells. [Water Creation Magic: Holy Water Assassination Bullet] Gathering a large stream of water together, Solid shaped the water into the appearance of a large bullet before firing it at the approaching Grim. *SWOOSH!!* Jumping to the left, Grim easily evaded the attack much to Solid''s annoyance. "Maybe you''ll do better with a couple more toys." [Water Creation Magic: Holy Water Assassination Bullet] [Water Creation Magic: Holy Water Assassination Bullet] [Water Creation Magic: Holy Water Assassination Bullet] Firing off consecutive water bullets, Solid laughed loudly as he thought that Grim would be squashed into nothing. Unfortunately he overestimated his own abilities. While the attacks were certainly fast, they were nothing compared to Luck''s lightning fast attacks. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Watching the water bullets miss their mark and hit the surrounding area, the crowd was truly dumbfounded. Even Nozel and Fuegoleon who were taking a back seat to everything that was happening couldn''t help but take a closer look at Grim. "Hey Noelle." Asta suddenly called out. "Why doesn''t Grim use his swords? If he used his beast or fire swords wouldn''t this match have ended by now?" Remembering how Grim had dealt with that Diamond Mage from the dungeon, Klaus and everyone else turned to look at Noelle. "I think... He''s trying to humiliate them." Seeing her brother''s failure to hit him, Nebra''s grimoire flickered open. [Mist Binding Magic: Mist Spider Binding Thread] Launching a web shaped thread composed of mist at Grim, Nebra expected to trap him and watch as her brother''s attack finally landed. But to her surprise Grim jumped into the air and cruised over the top of the mist like it was nothing before landing back on the ground and combat rolling before continuing on with his ?ssault. ''What the hell is wrong with this peasant?!'' [A/n: So many things.] Dodging the numerous number of attacks without the use of his swords, Grim finally reached Solid and drove a breath of the beast enhanced fist deep into his gut. *BANG!!* "URRGGGHHKKK!!" Feeling the wind get knocked out of him, Solid was forced to take a knee. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to bully someone weaker than him, Grim held the sides of Solid''s head before pulling it forward and driving his knee into his face. *CRACK!!* "AARGGHHH!!!" Solid screamed as he felt the bones in his nose flatten and break. Throwing his head back, Grim threw the idiot flat onto his back before lifting his leg up and ruthlessly stomped down on his t?st????s. *Inhumane screeching* "Hehehahahahahahahahaha!! HOLY SHIT THIS GUY''S WEAK!!" Grim laughed uncontrollably much to the horror of the other nobles. Realizing that this guy probably couldn''t even compare to Noelle''s raw power despite her only recently being able to control her magic, Grim lifted his leg and kicked the screaming Solid to the side before turning to look at the eldest daughter of the Silva family. "I guess you''re next." He grinned. Seeing Grim switch his attention to her, Nebra panicked and started casting a new spell. [Mist Creation Magic: Mis- *SLAP!!* *GASPS* Dropping to the ground, Nebra felt her mouth and left eye fill with blood as the left side of her face burned with a searing pain. If she could see herself now, she would be aghast a the bright red hand print on her cheek. Raising her hand slightly, Nebra''s fingers trembled as she touched her face and felt a tooth drop. "Y-You slapped me..." "Yeah." He nodded before kneeling in front of her. "Now get ready for my back hand." "Wha- *SLAP!!* Slapping her once again but this time using the back on his hand, Nebra lost a couple more teeth and her right eye also filled with blood. ''Now for the finisher.'' *BANG!!* Grabbing the top of her ugly hair, he repeatedly slammed her face down into the ground breaking her nose and causing her face to become bloody. ''Hmm... Maybe I should do it again just for good luck.'' *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Horrified by the sight of Nebra''s face and Grim''s ruthless actions, the other nobles stood in silence not wanting to draw that monster''s attention. ''This is pretty fun... I wonder if this is what I felt in my past incarnations?'' Distracted by his own thoughts, it was only after sensing the killing intent and massive release of mana that he stopped slamming Nebra''s face into the ground. "Oh?" He raised his head. Feeling a large release of mana, a dominating pressure covered the room as everyone''s eyes were drawn to the figure of silent figure of Nozel Silva who directing a large amount of malice in Grim''s direction . ''This pressure... Its as strong as Yami''s.'' "To dare to put your hands on members of the royal family." Nozel spoke in calm voice that hid a silent rage. "I didn''t think commoners dared to act this brave." "Well you''re not dealing with the average commoner anymore. Besides, I only put my hands on a couple of bitches. The fact that they happened to be part of the royal family didn''t even cross my mind." Grim shrugged. [A/n: Preach!] "In fact." He turned to look at all the nobles. "All you ?um guzzling bitches with royal blood in your veins can come at me. I''ll take each and every one of you fu?kers on. Hell! I''ll even give you an advantage and close my eyes. At least then it''ll even the odds a bit. Now c''mon you inbred cousin fu?k?n? degenerates! Its time to learn the difference between status and power!!" Releasing some of his magic power, several nobles were forced to take a step back as Grim started giving off a wild and unrestrained aura that had a primal feel to it. Enraged by Grim''s words and actions, the pressure Nozel was emitting increased by tenfold as he started taking heavier steps towards Grim. "To raise your hand against royalty is an act of treason, for your crimes against the crown, I punish you with death." Nozel said in a dark tone. "Hehhahahahahahahaha!!" Grim chuckled before bursting out in laughter. "You punish me?! Y''know, when I woke up this morning I wouldn''t have thought this was how my day would go. But okay Mr braided bangs, lets see how much limits I can break today!!" *BOOM!!* Releasing even more of his own magic power that easily surpassed that of a captain''s, the smile on his face become scary as the beast swords manifested themselves into his hands. While he wasn''t confident in beating someone at the level of a captain, after meeting the wizard king every cell in Grim''s body had been stimulated to the point that he no longer cared about the consequences. "So much mana..." "How can that peasant have more mana than me!" "Dammit! Kill that peasant trash!!" Feeling Grim''s magic power, Nozel''s gaze darkened as the whimpers of his brother and sister entered his ears. "Grim..." Listening to members of the audience, Asta and his crew were at a loss for what to do. Being commoners themselves, both Asta and Yuno were about to step in incase things started to look bad for Grim, but the sudden emergence of a particular voice stopped them in their tracks. "Is this how house Silva deals with their problems?" "Huh?" Everyone looked over at the direction the voice originated from. "C-Captain Fuegoleon!!" ''Fuegoleon?'' Thinking back to the time of the magic knight''s exam, Grim could vaguely remember wanting to join his squad before Yami forced him into joining the black bulls. Funny enough, the first time he embarassed a noble was in the presence of Fuegoleon, what are the odds that he''d be here to witness him doing it a second time? [A/n: 100%] "As a captain, ganging up on a new recruited with your brother and sister, do you not feel any shame Nozel?" "Sir Fuegoleon..." Mimosa sighed in relief when she saw him arrive on the scene. "Are you trying to educate me Fuegoleon?" Nozel frowned and turned to face him still radiating an air of animosity. "No, just reminding you of something that you should already be aware of." "He injured my family." "After they teamed up to attack him. While his actions were definitley extreme, it was a two on one situation he was facing." "Ahahahahahaha." Leopold suddeny laughed aloud causing the tension in the room to drop considerably as he went over to Grim''s side. "Damn! Big bro wasn''t kidding when he said you were strong. Now rejoice! For I Leopold Vermillion accept you as my rival!!" "...EHH!!!" Everyone from Grim''s group suddenly said in union. ''Rival? I don''t need one of those.'' Confused by the situation, Grim''s previous d?s?r? to fight was starting to dampen as he couldn''t keep up with the events happening around him. "Pass." "Huh?" Leopold made a surprised face. "The only rival I need is myself." "Yourself?" "Yeah, the only person I want to surpass is myself. So to that end I will continuously surpass every version of myself that grows in power." "Woah... That''s the exact attitude that my rival should have!!" --- "Hahahaha, men are such fools aren''t they sis?" Sol of the Blue roses laughed while eating some meat. *Sigh* "Mind your manners Sol." Charlotte chastised lightly." "My bad sis." She chuckled. "Call me captain Sol." "Ahaha, my bad sis." *Sigh* --- "First you interupt me from seeking justice for the crown and my family members, and now a member of your acknowledges the peasant that caused outrage as his rival. Has house Vermillion fallen so far?" Nozel''s icy voice cut through the air. "Oh fu?k you, you silver haired ?unt!!" Grim yelled from the background. "Step up to me again and I''ll rip your bang off, choke you with it and parade your body around the capital during the next festival!" [A/n: For some reason I pictured Grim choking him like Agent 47.] Barely holding it together, Nozel shot him a very menacing glare that could probably cut diamonds. Ignoring the comment, Fuegoloen''s eyes were completely focused on Nozel. "Lord Julius allowed the boy and his friends to be here. He may be a peasant but as someone recognized by the wizard king you should be more respectful and show the grace of a member of the royal family." "Respectful? To think I''d hear such nonsense from you of all people." Nozel scoffed. "It seems like the people of house Vermillion have become soft." "What?!" Fuegoleon frowned. "How do you expect me to respect that worm after what he did to members of my family!" Just as Grim was about to throw out another comment, he and everyone else felt the entire building start to shake as cracks started to run up the walls. "What that hell?" Taking a step back, everyone watched as both Fuegoleon''s and Nozel''s mana took on the physical shape of a orange lion and silver eagle. ''Okay, not gonna lie, this is pretty cool to watch.'' *BANG!!* Bursting through the front door, a hooded mage of the clover kingdom came stumbling in while breathing heavy. "Attack! WE''RE UNDER ATTACK!!" ''God dammit! Just when things were getting interesting.'' Chapter 31 - A town in trouble *Whistles* "Looks like various things have been happening." While everyone was busy looking at a small real time replica of Castle town created by some dude''s magic, Grim stood at a nearby window and watched the explosions from a distance. ''First the nobles and now the town, what an interesting day this has been so far.'' "Hey! Why are we all waiting here!? People are in trouble and need help. I''m going to help them!" After saying that Asta charged straight through the door. "Wait! You can''t even sense mana, how do you know where to go?!" Klaus yelled. "I''ll go to where its noisiest!" ''Well it beats waiting around here.'' Jumping down from the upper area, Grim smiled to the others and started running after him. "I''m gonna go to, contact me if anyone strong shows up!" "Grim wait!!" Klaus shouted in vain as Grim was already gone. "Pftt- As expected of my rival!" Leopold suddenly said before running after Grim and Asta. "But I''m not gonna let you show me up!!" ''Why do people keep leaving?'' Waiting another minute to see if anyone else was going to leave, Fuegoleon and the rest finally breathed a bit easier and focused back on the topic at hand. "Ahem, now that we''ve all calmed down a bit, lets talk strategy." --- "Are these... zombies?" Taking a look at the wreckage of Castle Town, Grim was somewhat surprised by the zombies that were patrolling the area. From his memories of earth (a lot of them seem to be useless) zombies were dead bodies brought back to life through some supernatural or scientific means and are able to infect others with their bite. For ordinary people facing a zombie would be quite the task, but for a mage... [Breath of Thunder - Third Form: Thunder Swarm] It was no big deal. ''Dammit! Todays been full of nothing but disappointments, first the nobles trash talk me but turn out to be really weak, then I almost get to fight a captain only to have it cut short, then I almost get to watch a fight between two captains only for them to be interrupted! And now the big enemy that I thought I''d be facing is nothing more than a bunch of zombies that are unable to use magic!'' *Sigh* ''And to make it worse I''ve lost Asta. Dammit! I wish he had some mana so I could track him. The only good thing I managed to do was escape from that Leopold guy, the dude''s obssessed.'' *Sigh* ''Fuck it, I''ll go find that Yuno guy, at least I''m familiar with his mana signature'' --- While Grim was off searching for Yuno, Asta was busy defending against an army of zombies while protecting a small child that had been ?ssaulted by some weird looking guy wearing rags and green ornament covering his left eye. --- [Breath of Thunder - Third Form: Thunder Swarm] [Breath of Thunder - Third Form: Thunder Swarm] *Sigh* ''This is so boring.'' Walking through the streets and spamming his AOE spell, the zombies approaching him fell one by one like puppets that had their strings cut. ''Actually... Wouldn''t this be the perfect time to try that out?'' A couple days after fighting that Heath guy and his henchmen back at Sosshi Village, Grim tried meditating in his room in hopes of recalling the feeling that he felt after battling Luck in the hopes of furthering his Breath of Thunder abilities and unlocking new spells. But to his surprise, instead of recalling the pain he felt after getting hit by Luck''s lightning, his mind was always pulled back to the time he was hit by that mist attack. While the power of the attack wasn''t anything special or memorable at all, his body seemed to recall the sensation and his grimoire replied in kind by unlocking a new breath style. [Breath of Mist - 2nd Form: Eight Layered Mist] Due to the power of the attack, Grim suspected that the reason it took so long for it to unlock itself was due to the damage being near non-existent. Manifesting in his hand, a blade with a rectangular shaped handguard and hollowed rectangles at each corner appeared. Taking a look at a couple of wondering zombies, Grim clutched his blade and slashed at the air eight times in rapid succession of each other. And to his delight, a flurry of 8 arc shaped mist attacks tore through the battlefield and bisected a couple of zombies like they were nothing. ''Hmm... Not as powerful as [Rengoku] but it doesn''t use as much mana.'' Swinging the blade a couple more times, Grim decided to refine the spell by using it on the zombies. --- -Elsewhere- "Hehehehehe, is the spell ready?" "Yes." "Then activate it." While the magic knights in Castle town were busy dealing with the fodder zombies and receiving the praise of the town''s residents, a sudden inky black substance appeared beneath their feet. ''What the hell!'' "Oh no!" "...They got us..." [Teleportation Magic: BLACKOUT] All around the city, various eruptions of black exploded out as a large number of magic knights were encapsulated and teleported away. "T-The magic knights... They''re gone..." A towns man stuttered. And as if on cue, a new wave of zombies suddenly appeared in the areas the magic knights had dissapeared from. --- "To think that they all fell for it, how pathetic." Sitting on a broom, a woman dressed in a black dress with fluffy skirt and black witch-like hat appeared among the masses with a weirdly sadistic smile on her face. "Well, it''d be a shame if the zombie ate all of you, so why not do me a favor and give me all of that delicious young mana you have?" Licking her lips, the woman raised her hands and started su?k?n? the mana out of their bodies. "More... GIVE ME MORE MANA!!" "Huh!!" Jumping back in time, the woman somehow managed to avoid getting hit by a small tornado. ''Someone attacked me!'' Shocked at the fact that someone managed to escape the mass teleportation, the witch prepared to go on the offensive but was taken aback by the person who attacked her. Seeing Yuno standing there looking all majestic-like, the previous malice emanating from the witch seemed to vanish into thin air. ''He''s GORGEOUS!!'' "Ahem. Now what would a strapping young man like yourself be doing in a place like this? How about we go somewhere private and have a bit of fun." "Shut up hag, get away from those people." ''Hag...'' "....You''re DEAD." And just like that, her malice returned. Chapter 32 - Goal ''That magic...'' Feeling a large surge of magic explode from the distance, Grim turned to face that direction. "Yuno..." *BOOM!!* "Huh?" Feeling another large surge of mana coming from the opposite direction, Grim had a decision to make. ''Do I go left or right?'' --- [Fire Restraining Magic: Leo Palma] Conjouring up several flaming lion palms, Fuegoleon wrapped them around the necromancer Rades and restrained him. Trapped within his spell, Rades started struggling but realized just how pointless it was and started breaking down. "NO NO NO!!! I HAVE GREATER MANA THAN ANY ROYAL! I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!!" "As much as you would like to believe that, you have to accept reality." Walking over to him, Fuegoleon grabbed at his grimoire. "NO!! DON''T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT!!" Ignoring his pitiful cries, Fuegoleon yanked the book away. "I SAID DON''T TOUCH IT!!" ''This grimoire...'' Opening up Rades grimoire, Fuegoleon''s brows furrowed as he saw a single page within the book. "DON''T LOOK!! THAT ISN''T FOR ANYONE ELSE TO SEE!!" ''I see... He only has one spell..." "How dare you... HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME WITH PITY!!" Seeing the look on his face when he saw the single page inside his grimoire, the anger and hatered within Rades heart bubbled to the surface as he started throwing out incomprehensible slurs. "Pity? The only person who deserves pity is me. After making me waste my time running all over this town I come to find out that the big bad has already been take care of. How bad do you think I feel?" "Huh?" Looking up, everyone saw Grim''s figure chilling on top of a partially destroyed building. "Hey guys." "My RIVAL!!" Leopold yelled. ''Fuck! how did I not notice him until now?'' Feeling his left eye twitch slightly, Grim hoped down from the top of the building and softly landed on the ground. While everyone''s attention was focused on Grim''s arrival, none of them noticed the voice comming out of the magic communication device in Rades''s ear. "Are you satisfied now Rades? While you definitely have the mana to fight one, you should have known that you weren''t enough to beat a captain by yourself. And just like you, it seems like Catherine has failed her mission... It seems like I too am at my limit, so were gonna stop messing around now and follow the plan." "Hey you." Fuegoleon turned his attention back onto Rades. "While I get the feeling that revenge was your goal, I doubt that the spacial mage was doing it for the same reason. So tell me, what were you guys really after?" Lowering his head, Rades started to laugh and draw everyone''s attention. "You want to know what our goal was? Ahahahahahahaha, you really want to know!! Then listen closely captain of the Crimson Lions! Our goal was more than just revenge, our real goal was you Fuegoleon Vermillion!!" "What!!" Exploding out from under him, the same inky black magic that teleported the rest of the magic knights away appeared. "BIG BRO!!" Leopold screamed as he watched his brother get teleported away. ''To get it right under his feet... The accuracy of that spell was too precise... The caster is probably close by but... I can''t sense any other mana in the area.'' "Over there!!" Asta suddenly yelled and charged towards a pile of zombie bodies and using his sword to throw them into the air. ''There!!'' Feeling a tug of mana in the air, Grim and everyone watched as one of the bodies that Asta had swept up disappeared into a portal that looked like one of Finral''s. *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* "To think you would actually find me. I''m impressed." "I went through all the trouble of not using magic and covering myself in shit and dirt just so I could blend in, but I guess its true what they say, animals really do have a good sense of smell." Ripping the zombie face mask off, the group was finally able to see his real appearance. A lean built man with wavy grey hair that ends at the bottom of his head. He also has straight line going down each side of his face. To be completely honest he still kinda looked like an undead in Grim''s eyes. "WHERE''S MY BROTHER!!" Leopold yelled. "Hmm... He should be with you shortly, anyway, it seems like my job is over, so I''ll be seeing you." Opening another portal, he stepped through it and vanished from sight. "GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!!" Still aggitated over his brother''s disappearance, Leopold started to tremble. But just as he was about to yell some more, a portal opened up in front of them, and out from it came Fuegoleon... Well an unconscious Fuegoleon covered in blood and missing his right arm. [A/n: Not the fap arm!!] *GASPS* "B-Big Bro..." "Pffthahahahahahahahahaha!!!" Rades''s laughter suddenly rung out. "Looks like he''s been disarmed! Maybe you should give him and hand!! Ahahahahahahahahahaha!!" "YOU!!" Leopold swung around to face him. "Hehehehehehehe." Similar to what happened to Fuegoleon, a portal appeared below Rades''s feet as he prepared to be transported away. "YOU''RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!" Asta yelled and charged him. "Hahahaha, I''ll be seeing you Asta." Rades''s grinned. ''Dammit! I won''t make it at this rate...'' Gritting his teeth, a sudden flash of inspiration passed through his eyes as he pulled out his new anti magic sword and threw it into the portal negating the activation and absorbing the magic. "What!!" Surprised by the magic disappearing, a look of shock made its way onto Rades''s face as Asta flashed in front of him and punched him into the ground. "Argh!!" ''This... isn''t good.'' Returning back to the area, the spacial mage that looked like some weird undead creature came back and created several more warp gates and teleported a couple of his allies to the area. "Heheheheh, looks like the odds are in my favor now brats!!" Rades''s laughed wildly despite the black eye he was now sporting. Arriving on the scene, one of the hooded mages turned to face the spacial mage. "Are you really being held back by a couple of children Valtos?" Before he could respond, the conversation was interrupted by an unusal laugh. ''1, 2, 3, 4, 5.'' "You only brought 5 people as back up? Pfft- You guys must really not care about your lives." [Breath of Flames] Feeling the area heat up, Valtos, Rades''s and the rest turned to look at a grinning Grim covered in a soft orange glow. "Y''know, today''s been one heck of a roller coaster, and to be honest I was getting kinda bored fighting against zombies. But now that you''re all here... We can finally have some fun!!" Releasing an absurd amount of mana that shocked the new arrivals, Grim materialized his fire sword. ''This heat...'' Having never seen Grim in action properly, Leopold was taken aback by the amount of mana that was emanating out of him. ''I-Its more than a royals...'' Even the enemies seemed to be surprised as a couple of them took a step back. ''This amount of mana... He might be a problem.'' "Hey." Grim''s voice interrupted their train of thought. "I''ve been disappointed a lot lately, so if none of you survive this don''t take it personally okay?" "What?!" Chapter 33 - Pain "So what if he''s got a lot of mana!" The leader of the hooded mages yelled after seeing the sudden drop in his unit''s morale. "WE OUT NUMBER HIM 5 TO 1!! WE CAN EASILY KILL HI- While the leader of the hooded mages was trying to raise the morale of his allies, Grim smirked at the attempt and activated a spell. [First Form: Unknowing Fire] *SWOOSH!!* Leaving a trail of fire behind and bursting forward at a shocking speed, the spell Grim had executed did its job as Grim appeared several feet behind the team leader. *THUD* *Silence* "L-Leader..." Robotically turning their heads to the side, the sight of Grim holding a glowing orange sword with flames curled around it came into view as the decapitated head of their leader fell from his neck and rolled onto the floor. Due to the heat from his sword, the wound had been cauterized and not a drop of blood could be seen. "So that''s what it feels like to kill someone..." Grim rung out amidst the silence as he clenched and unclenched his fist. "I wonder when the guilt that people talk about will set in." "H-He killed someone..." Asta''s mind shook over seeing some die in front of his eyes. Even Noelle who had apparently been checking on Fuegoleon this whole time was shocked by what she had seen. "Now then." Grim''s voice snapped them out of it. "Since the only one we really need is that freaky looking zombie guy over there and the spacial mage. I''m guessing that the clover kingdom will see the rest of you as expendable." "Expendable..." One of the mages muttered and stared at their decapitated leader''s head. After witnessing the death of their team leader, the other 4 hooded mages were at a loss as they couldn''t comprehend the situation. Their mission was clear, stay on standby until Valtos and Rades ran into some trouble then come and back them up. But with the sudden death of their leader. things had taken a dark turn. If Grim''s previous actions of unleashing his mana was enough to deter them, his killing of the unit leader was more than enough for everyone to see him as a threat. Furrowing his eyebrows, Valtos couldn''t help but look at the boy more seriously. While he had been warned of Asta and his anti-magic capabilities, he never would have thought that one of the Eye of the Midnight Sun''s team leaders would be taken care of some quickly and cleanly. "Now then, do your best to defend yourselves." He grinned. [Breath of Mist - 2nd Form: Eight Layer Mist] Not wasting anymore time, Grim switched styles and unleashed a flurry of mist attacks as the hooded mages fell into panic. *Swoosh!!* *Swoosh!!* *Swoosh!!* "ARGHH!!" "RUN!!" *SPLAT!!* With the release of his attacks, various screams and cries echoed out as Grim mercilessly ripped the unit apart piece by piece. ''This... isn''t good.'' Watching from a safe distance, Valtos was begining to get pissed at the intelligence gathering team as they didn''t inform them of just how ruthless and capable this mage was. One of the hooded mages that saw one of Grim''s attacks coming at him activated a spell on instinct. [Wind Creation Magic: Piercing Tornado Needles] Manifesting minature vortexs made from wind in front of him, the spell caused the vortexs to be stretched to their limits until it resembled elongated spear-like needles that blew away the mist attacks. "I-I''m alive..." ''A wind spell...'' Seeing the spell, the smile on Grim''s face deepened as he switched to Breath of Thunder. [3rd Form: Thunder Swarm] Creating a spinning wave of lightning around his person, the surrounding mages were zapped and paralysed. "ARGGHHH!!!" *THUD!!* ''Lightning magic!!'' Seeing Grim''s lightning abilities, Valtos raised Grim''s danger level to a rank higher. Using the fear he gathered from his actions, Grim slowly stepped towards the wind mage. Every step he took echoed within the mage''s mind as he saw the shadow of death closing in. Combined with the immense magic power he was feeling, the wind mage knew that resisting would be pointless and that his fate had already been decided. ''I-I''m going to die...'' "DON''T JUST STAND THERE!! FIGHT!!" Valtos''s voice rung out. "DON''T FORGET THE REASON WE CAME HERE! IF IT WASN''T FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM WE WOULDN''T BE OUTCASTED BY SOCIETY!! WE WOULDN''T HAVE TO SCURRY AROUND IN THE SHADOWS LIKE RATS! NOW TAKE A STAND AND FIGHT!!" "He''s right y''know." Grim suddenly said to everyone''s surprise. "If it weren''t for people like me then you''d probably be doing way better right? Now doesn''t that make you angry? While I''m living a life of comfort and glory, you''re forced to be nothing more than a sacrifical pawn whose only purpose is to die for a cause that you b?r?ly believe in?" "Barely believe in..." "That''s right." Grim nodded not knowing what he was talking about. After seeing him use wind magic he wanted to stir the fires in the mage''s heart and cause him to attack him. But after his previous actions, he could see that the man''s spirit was already broken and his will to fight had been crushed. So to bring it back to what it had previously been, he was making shit up to try to re-ignite his passion. "Do you really want to die here today? To die without accomplishing anything? To die knowing that you were just another face in the crowd? Is that what you really want?" "No..." The mage said quietly. "What was that? I couldn''t hear you." "No." "What?" "I SAID NO!!!" The mage yelled and released his own magic power. "I WON''T DIE TODAY!! I''LL KILL YOU, DEFILE YOUR CORPSE AND RETURN HOME AS A HERO!!" "DAMN RIGHT YOU WILL!! NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ATTACK!!" "ARRGHHHH!! [Wind Creation Magic: Piercing Tornado Needles]" ''What the hell is happening?'' Noelle wondered unable to follow what was going on. Screaming loudly, the wind mage shot multiple tornado needles at Grim. ''Finally~'' Breathing lightly and switching to Breath of the Beast, Grim braced himself as the needles tore through his body leaving behind a couple of small holes and blowing him off his feet. ''FUCK ME!!! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTSSS!!! WITH THE AMPLIFIED BUFFS THAT BREATH OF THE BEAST GIVES ME I THOUGHT IT WOULDN''T BE THIS BAD!!'' *CRASH!!* "I... I DID IT!!!" Seeing Grim crash into the concrete without any sign of getting back up, the wind mage''s heart with filled with shock and delight. ''He... did it.'' Looking at Grim''s motionless figure, Valtos was slightly surprised he reassessed his previous evalutation. ''Maybe he wasn''t so troublesome afterall.'' "GRIM/RIVAL!!!" Asta and Leopold screamed in union before charging the wind mage. Despite their tired states from fighting Rades and his zombie army, both boys prepared to deal with the wind mage. Unfortunately for them, seeing Grim go down caused the wind mage''s confidence to return as he raised his hand towards the approaching figures. [Wind Creation Magic: Piercing Tornado Needles] "GYYAAHHH!!" ''So fast...'' Feeling the wind needles pierce through their bodies, both Asta and Leopold found themselves quickly losing consciousness as the slowly fell to the floor. "ASTA!!" Noelle yelled. "Ah...Ha...Ha...Hahahahahahahahaha!!! I did it again!!" The wind mage laughed crazily before pointing his hand at the 2 boys. "Now to finish the job!!" [A/n: I think Grim might have broken his mind and made him a tad bit psychotic.] Unable to leave Fuegoleon''s side, Noelle was forced to watch as her friends lives were about to be snuffed out. Chapter 34 - Vow Stirring in his sleep, Grim felt his eyes open slowly as they adjusted to the light. ''Did I pass out?'' "Grim!!" Turning his head to the side, Grim saw a kneeling Noelle and Mimosa hovering over him. Looking closer, he noticed that Mimosa was using her plant dress and healing his wounds. ''To get taken out by such a small amount of pain... If my other incarnations saw me now I wonder what they would say? *Sigh* I really overestimated my own endurance.'' Sighing at the fact that he had miscalculated the amount of pain he would be in from the wind needles, Grim slowly sat up much to Mimosa''s surprise. "You shouldn''t push yourself!" She said in panic. "It''s fine." He replied and activated Beast breathing. *Deep Breath* ''That''s better.'' Feeling the pain dull slightly, he managed to make it onto his feet and finally see what was going on around him. ''What the hell happened while I was unconscious?'' Standing in the area around them were all the mages from the banquet including captain Nozel and Charlotte. Surprised by the sight of them, he turned to look at Noelle and Mimosa. "Why are they here?" In short, after Grim passed out Asta and Leopold attacked the wind mage but were caught off guard by how fast his needle attack was and were taken out of the fight and rendered unconscious. Shortly after that the wind mage seemed to go crazy as he wanted to kill the unconscious Asta and Leopold. But before he could do anything, that spacial mage interfered saying how it would be better to take Grim and Asta captive so they could experiment on them. Fortunately for them, Mimosa and the captains arrived and managed to force the spacial mage to teleport himself, the wind mage and their paralyzed comrades away. Unfortunately they also managed to take Asta with them during their escape. Mimosa then got onto stabalizing Fuegoleon''s wounds before moving onto Grim. "I see..." ''So I passed out and everything went to shit... Fuck! Now I feel guilty for Asta getting kidnapped.'' Sighing loudly, he reached for his grimoire and opened it up. ''Lets see if I at least managed to gain something from this whole ordeal.'' Reacting to his touch, the grimoire glowed a bright green colour as it opened up and flipped to a new page. ''Breath of wind, good.'' Seeing the page, a small smile appeared on his face as he was torn between feeling happy that he had gotten something out of getting several holes punched through his body and the feeling of guilt over Asta being kidnapped due to him being unable to withstand the pain that other incarnations of himself would probably shrug off. While he was stuck in this limbo mindset, he was surprised when his grimoire started glowing pink. ''What the hell?!!'' Flipping to another page, new words manifested in front of his eyes. ''Breath of Flower? How the hell did I get that?'' Turning his head to look at the two members of royalty next to him, he realized that Mimosa was still in her plant dress. ''...Does that count?'' Having never been attacked by a plant based magic before, he could only guess that Mimosa''s healing was the reason that this style had unlocked itself for him. ''Actually, now that I think about it...'' "Where''s captain Fuegoleon and Leopold?" He asked. "They''re um..." Shuffling uncomfortably in place, both Noelle and Mimosa turned to look at a nearby building. "They''re recieving treatment." "Treatment? But I got treated out here." Hearing this, the girls started shuffling even more. "You um, you were rejected due to your status." "My status?" Grim frowned. "As... a commoner." Mimosa spoke quietly causing an awkward silence to envelop the three of them. "But you were actually in a better condition than them!" Mimosa said trying to dispell the awkwardness. "Although you were also hit, for some reason you bled slower than the rest.'' While Mimosa did her best to calm the situation down, Grim could hear none of it as he was stuck in his own head. ''They rejected me? Those pompous fu?kers rejected me! ME!! If I was seriously injured I would have died!!'' Realizing that he was fortunate that Breath of the Beast amplified his body''s stats like vitality long enough for Mimosa to arrive, he suddenly felt a wave of anger sprout from his heart. But before he could act on it, a familiar mana signature appeared in the middle of the surrounding mages. ''This mana...'' "Hey guys." Appearing out of nowhere with Asta in one arm and a hooded mage inside of a floating sphere with a ring around that for some reason had roman numerials that Grim recognized from his life on earth on it was the wizard king. "WIZARD KING!!" The surrounding mages exclaimed at his sudden appearance. "ASTA!!" Grim''s group yelled. "Hey Grim, good to see you doing alright." He waved and got out from under the wizard king''s arm. "Dude forget about that, are you okay?! I mean you got kidnapped!" "Aha yeah." He laughed. "For a minute there I thought I was dead for sure." Seeing him stand there and laugh about the situation, Grim felt some of his guilt fade away. ''At least he''s doing fine.'' While he was still angry at the fact that a friend of his got kidnapped and almost died because of a dumb thing that he did, he was happy everything had worked out... Well not for Fuegoleon and the whole missing arm thing, but well enough for everyone else. After that, Asta proceeded to give a quick explanation of how the wizard king came and saved him from the bad guys. "Listen up everyone!" The wizard king''s voice rung out and drew everyone''s attention. ''Hmm?'' "As magic knights, there''s only one thing that we''re always seeking, and that thing is peace within our kingdom. To achieve that goal, we have no other option than to fight these criminals!" "Criminals?" A familiar voice sounded out from within the crowd. "Nozel..." Solid muttered seeing the look on his brother''s face. Clenching his fists tightly, the eldest of the Silva siblings turned his back on the group and after excusing himself to the wizard king he left. "I think the enemy might have just awakened a sleeping lion." The wizard king smiled over Nozel''s anger of having his rival lose an arm. "Now everyone, seeing the results of today''s attack, this kingdom will need you all to get stronger than you currently are." *BANG!!* ''What now?'' "The one who needs to get stronger is me!" Slamming open a nearby door and coming out despite his exhausted state, Leopold''s breathing was heavy and you could practically hear his body screaming for him to take it easy. "Grim... Asta..." He smiled when he saw the two of them. "I''m glad that the both of you are okay. As comrades that have been to the gates of hell and back with me, I know that both of you will get stronger too!" ''Well I just unlocked breath of the wind and flower so yeah...'' "I''ll get stronger too..." Lighting a small flame on his finger tip, Leopold poked his forehead for a reason that Grim didn''t really understand. "This is my vow!!" ''To surpass my brother...'' "I''LL BECOME THE WIZARD KING!!" Removing his finger from his forehead, a diamond-like symbol that was identical to Fuegoleon''s was burnt into his skin. "Okay?" Grim nodded not knowing what else to say. "I don''t really know what''s going on here or how you got to that conclusion, but knock yourself out." "Hell yeah!!" Asta cheered. "Lets get stronger together!!" Chapter 35 - Rest Shortly after the zombie invasion ended, the wizard king made a public speech announcing that the attackers were part of a terrorist group and that the magic knights would take precautions to ensure that such an invasion never happened again. --- *Breathing* Sitting cross legged on his bed, Grim''s body was coated in a soft green glow as he did his best to get a feel of using wind magic. Despite also gaining breath of the flower magic, Grim didn''t want to divide his attention too much so chose to focus on gaining a deep understanding of Breath of wind before moving on. *Knock* *Knock* Disturbed by the sound, Grim''s eyes flashed open as his attention shifted to his door. "Come in." Opening the door, Asta walked in. "Yo." He waved. "The wizard king''s asking to see us." Frowning slightly, Grim nodded and stood up. "Lets no keep him waiting." --- Meeting up with Noelle and Charmy, Grim and Asta headed to the magic knight headquaters. "Why are you here Charmy?" *Munch* *Munch* Swallowing the food in her mouth, Charmy wiped away the crumbs on her face. "Dunno." She shrugged before handing him a bun. "...Thanks?" "Can I have one too?!!" Asta asked after seeing Grim snack on it. "Me too!" Noelle jumped in. "Sure, sure, food for everyone!!" Charmy laughed as she handed out two more buns. *Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch* Walking down the street and eating their buns in a synchronized fashion, the quartet caught the attention of Yuno and his group who were on the other side from them. "Hey look! Its Grim and the others!" Mimosa said after spotting them. "Hmm?" Yuno and Klaus looked over and saw them. "Hey Grim!!" Mimosa yelled catching their attention. "Huh?" Hearing her voice, Grim looked around confused before seeing them. "Its you guys." "How are your wounds?!!" Mimosa asked. "They''re healed." ''Didn''t she already know that after healing me?'' "That''s good." She smiled sweetly. "Hey Yuno!!" Asta suddenly shouted. "I heard you defeated one of ?ssailants all by yourself!" ''Yuno did that?'' Remembering the large spike of magic power he felt back then, Grim finally equated that moment to Yuno''s figure. ''He''s gotten that much stronger since the dungeon incident...'' Recalling Yuno''s figure in the dungeon, it was hard to believe that he was the caused of such a powerful magic spike in such a short amount of time. But if what Asta was saying was true, then that meant that Yuno was improving at a rate that was close to him. "Hey!! Don''t ignore me!!" Asta yelled after seeing Yuno not respond. Sighing lightly, Yuno opened up his grimoire. [Wind Creation Magic: Swift White Hawk] Manifesting a hawk-like bird composed of wind streams, Yuno silently ordered it to attack. "Whaa!!" *SWOOSH!!* Feeling his eyes widen, Grim was silently shocked by the amount of power he could feel from the hawk. Compared to Yuno''s attack power against Mars''s crystal clones, the current him was on a whole other level. Pulling out his great sword, Asta didn''t waste any time as he stabbed the hwind hawk through the forehead and dispelled the magic. "WHAT THE HELL YUNO!! DON''T JUST GO AROUND ATTACKING PEOPLE!!" Looking down at his hands, a couple of questions flashed through Yuno''s mind. "I might have put in a bit too much power..." Standing besides, even Klaus couldn''t believe the rise in Yuno''s attack power. ''What the hell happened to him in this short amount of time?'' --- After finishing their business at the magic knight headquarters, the quartet returned back to the base and were surprised to see Luck and Magna waiting for them. "Yo." Magna waved and tried to act cool. "GRIM!!" Luck cheered and jumped over to his side. "Hey, hey!! Everyone''s acting weird. What happened while we were away?!" "Not much, I fought a couple of nobles, almost got killed by a captain, the town got attacked by an army of zombies, a terrorist organisation wants to destroy the Clover kingdom, captain Fuegoleon lost his right arm, Asta got kidnapped, the wizard king is actually really powerful, Noelle''s siblings are probably gonna try and kill me in the dark and me, Asta and Noelle were promoted to lower class rank 3 magic knights. Oh, and dinner will be ready a bit earlier today." [A/n: That one day when you miss school.] "WHATT!!!" Magna''s jaw hit the floor. "Woah seriously!!" Luck exclaimed. "Yeah." Grim nodded. "It was actually pretty boring, the zombie couldn''t use magic and the boss could only use one spell." "What about the nobles? That must have been fun right?!" "Not really, besides having a lot of mana they weren''t anything special." "Oh... That sounds boring..." *Sigh* "It was..." Seeing the sombre atmosphere around them, Noelle and the rest didn''t know how to react. "...Wanna go fight?" Luck suddenly asked. "Sure." [Breath of Mist: 2nd Form - Eight-Layered Mist] Slashing his sword eight times in quick succession, 8 arcs of mist crossed the distance to cut Luck. Activating his [Thunder God''s Boots] and [Thunder God''s Gloves], Luck zig zagged past the mist attacks and flashed forward appearing at Grim''s side within seconds. ''Fast as ever.'' Unable to hide his smile, Luck clenched his lightning covered hand into a fist as he swung it forward with no regards for the amount of power in his attack. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, Grim dropped to the floor dodging the attack. Switching the Breath of Thunder, he took advantage of the fact that Luck was so close to him to activate Thunder Swarm. Seeing through his intentions, Luck jumped high into the air evading the spinning wave of lightning that would have probably ended the fight. "NICE TRY!!" ''He saw through my actions...'' Looking down at him from the air, Luck gathered his mana into his hands as he prepared his next spell. [Lightning Magic: Thunderclap Crumbling Orb] *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Seeing the multiple orbs of lightning desending upon him, the smile that Grim had been hiding this entire time couldn''t be held back any longer as a green glow appeared on his body. [Breath of Wind] Frowning at the new colour on Grim''s body, Luck fired off even more lightning orbs. Feeling a sense of weightlessness on his body, Grim''s sight cut past the lightning orbs and his eyes met with Luck''s. [1st Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter] Gathering all the wind magic around him, the light green aura on his body became faint as it started swirling around his person immitating the actions of wind. Crouching down slightly he started generating more wind around his body before jumping with all his strength. *BOOM!!* *FWOOSH!!* Surrounded by a cyclone of wind, Grim shot through the air at an astounding speed as the wind surrounding his body acted like blades and cut the approaching lightning orbs into pieces. "I''M COMING FOR YOU LUCK!!" "Ha...Hahahahahahahaha!! That''s so COOL!!" Luck laughed as he watched the cyclone with Grim in the middle of it approaching him. Having read what the spell did but never trying it, Grim was pleasantly surprised by its effect. While he wasn''t flying per-se, standing inside the cyclone while in the air sure made it feel like he was. Surrounded by high speed rotating winds, Grim moved through the air like a snake closing in on Luck. Laughing madly, Luck gathered an even larger portion of his mana on his hand to form a single, powerful orb of lightning. Holding his arm steady with his left hand, he aimed it at the approaching Grim. "Bang." He grinned. *BANG!!* Releasing a sound that resembled that of a thunderclap, the orb of lightning flashed through the air at an absurd speed that Grim''s eyes couldn''t follow. Relying purely on his instincts alone, Grim let the cyclone go free and without his control, the cyclone started acting like a normal cyclone. Falling through the tail end, Grim watched as the lightning orb and the cyclone clashed causing the sound of thunder to echo out as a powerful discharge of lightning and wind from their attacks flashed across the sky and descended upon the earth. ''Oh shit...'' *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Re-activating breath of wind, Grim took advantage of his lighter weight to use smaller versions of [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] to push himself out of the way of the descending lightning. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* ''Yami is not going to be happy.'' Looking down at the ground, Grim noticed that the courtyard was scarred by the descending lightning and the sharp cuts from the wind slashes. "Hey Grim!! That was awesome!!" Luck yelled also falling from the sky with a smile on his face. ---------------------------------------------- So this couldn''t all fit into the author comment so I''m just gonna write it all here. Small rant: So... I just went through all the bad reviews this fic has gotten (For some reason they''re the most upvoted) and I can see a clear pattern. 1st: A large majority of the people who have complained say that Grim isn''t acting like someone who lived 16 previous lives because he didn''t outright fight Yami when he was coerced into joining the Black Bulls. From this I can tell that they clearly didn''t understand the first two chapters which is beyond me considering how much emphasis I put on him having partial memories of his 12th life and his core memories only include him knowing that he''s a reincarnator and that this life is a vacation. And the MC is brash not stupid. If Yami can make an entire arena of people sweat with his magic power alone, why would Grim at this point who only has 2 breath styles and 2-3 overall spells fight him? His chances of winning are zero! At least when he faced Nozel he had more breath styles and spells in his arsenal. 2nd: I don''t get why people thought the MC was nerfed? I mean out of the three wishes he wanted, he got the two most useful (Magic type) (Elven blood), yeah he didn''t get the appearance he wanted but it literally has no bearing on the story. And if the complaint is that god gave him a weak body, they obviously didn''t take notice of how he trained to overcome that weakness. And Breath of the Beast fixes that problem in seconds so its not a true nerf. And speaking of nerfs, Asta has no fu?k?n? magic what so ever and I don''t see anyone calling him weak. Its like they conviently seemed to forget this fact. 3rd: What is with them complaining about Grim having a 3 leaf grimoire? Like I get that they wanted him to have a 4 leaf and all but don''t they realize that the powerhouse characters in this series have 3 leaf grimoires? All the captains, the witch queen, Luck, Charmy, Vanessa and every other black bull who''s worth a damn. Hell! Even the Golden Dawn (Best squad in the kingdom) all their members have 3 leaves. (A 3 leafed Yami would bitch slap the 4 leaf Yuno no diff) And with all of Grim''s current perks like his Demon Slaying magic that allows him to use more than one magic type (Something the diamond kingdom is struggling to do) and his Elven blood that grants him large mana reserves that surpass every other human in the clover kingdom, not to mention the amps he''ll get in the future, I don''t see the problem with him having a 3 leaf grimoire. 4th and final: The trend I see the most from the negative reviews is the fact that none of them got to chp 11 before they started complain. Like I''ve said previously, chp 1-10 were the prologue so that everyone got a feel of Grim''s personality, how he fights and how his magic works. Chp 11 is where Grim''s journey truly starts. (Holy shit, this reminds me of the time people called the black clover anime trash because of Asta''s early stage screaming... It was bad, but look at the anime now, nothing but praises. The only thing that would make it better would be if they had another studio other than Perriot animating it. Like seriously, put Boruto on the back burner and give Black Clover some love.) Realized I was starting getting off topic so lets wrap this up. Sorry for the rant... I just think of how many other authours don''t get the publicity they deserve and quit writing due to people seeing these upvoted reviews and thinking that the people who wrote them actually know what they''re talking about. Like one of the most upvoted reviews said the mc lived 13 lives... Chapter 2 is called reincarnation 17... I''m not saying that everyone should go read like 20 chps of a shit novel just to whether it gets good or not, considering this is web novel that''s probably not the case. But I do feel like we''ve lost a couple of gems due to these type of reviews. I honestly got lucky in all of this, due to my MHA fic being so popular. If it weren''t for the fact that people knew my writing style and believed in my ability to tell a story, I''m sure that this novel wouldn''t be as popular as it is now (Like holy shit! Somehow this is the most popular Black Clover fic on the site for now.) (Well at one point my MHA fic was in the same status but that''s declined as I''ve started giving this novel more attention... Oh well.) Anyway, sorry for wasting your time writing this, just speaking/writing my mind, feel free to ignore it. Oh! And shout out to the Rant Cafe''s (Nux Taku, Anime Uproar and All Day Anime) isekai novel which I just found on , "That Time I Got Isekai''d To Another World With My Truck!!" Chapter 36 - Old Acquaintances "Wow... Yami''s gonna be pissed." Looking at the messed up courtyard, Finral couldn''t help but comment while Grim and Luck were laying down catching their breaths. "Tell me something I don''t know." Grim laughed. "So... Before Yami comes out and kills you, wanna go to a mixer?" "A mixer?" Imagining Yami''s reaction to the state of the courtyard, Grim only asked one question. "How fast can we leave?" "Right away." Opening up a portal, Finral smiled. "Great! Lets go Luck." Grim said jumping up from the ground. "Sure." "Actually..." Finral cut in. "Its a 3 on 3 mixer and I kinda already invited Asta so..." "Oh..." Grim and Luck looked at each other. This took all of five seconds before Grim abandoned Luck by jumping through the portal. "GOOD LUCK!!" He shouted. [A/n: That pun tho.] Knowing that Luck was a lot faster than him, the chances of him escaping Yami''s wrath was a lot higher than his own, therefore he didn''t hesitate to leave his friend behind. --- Crossing through the portal, Grim found himself standing outside a familiar looking restaurant. ''Wait a second... Isn''t this where I used to work?'' "You made it!!" A voice sounded out from besides him. "Huh?" Turning his head slightly, Grim the smiling face of Asta waiting for him. "Hey..." Before the two could start their conversation, Finral quickly came through the portal with slightly frazzled hair. *Heavy Breathing* "Damn that battle maniac!" He cursed before noticing that Grim and Asta were staring at him. "Ahem." He coughed and combed his hair back to normal with his hand. Putting on a friendly smile and pretending that the past 10 seconds didn''t happen, he directed his attention to the two and said. "Follow me." Ignoring their stares, he walked into the restaurant without looking back. Looking at each other, Grim and Asta shrugged before following him inside. Following his lead, the two were lead to table where three lovely ladies were waiting for them. ''So these are our dates...'' Knowing that showing up late wouldn''t leave the best first impression, Finral went into gentleman mode as the aura around him changed. "Sorry for the wait ladies, we had to deal with a small issue." He smiled. "Huh? Oh, its oka- GRIM!!" One of the ladies suddenly exclaimed ignoring Finral''s gentleman act. "Eh?" Hearing his name being called, Grim took a closer look at the ladies and realized that he had met them all before. "R-Rebecca!!" --- "So... You guys all know each other huh?" Aiming his smile at Grim, Finral asked this question with a strangely dark aura around him that made Grim feel slightly uncomfortable. "Know each other? I''d say we more than know each other right Grim?" The blonde lady said with a more than enthusiastic tone. "Yeah." Grim nodded, considering that he didn''t know a lot of people, he wondered how he managed to get into a mixer with three women that he had known for years. "Is that so?" Finral smiled while his dark aura intensified. "Yeah." The girl with black hair nodded. "Whenever we came to visit Rebecca at work, we always ran into Grim here. He was very polite." "Was he now?" Finral said giving Grim a weird look. "Woah! You guys must be super close then!" Asta gasped not reading the room. "Not as close as I''d like." The blonde one mumbled under her breath. Picking up on this, Finral''s dark aura increased to a terrifying level. ''Why is it that I''m the only one that can feel it?'' Brushing off Finral''s glare, Grim turned his attention to the only girl who had kept silent throughout the conversation. Remembering the letter he had left her telling her that she was a massive bitch, he didn''t know what to say except "Its good to see you again." "Is it?" Rebecca finally spoke. ''Not really.'' "...Sure..." "That''s strange, because if I remember correctly, the last thing I got from you was a letter detailing the ways in which I had and I quote, a bitch face, reeked of something you called thottery and was a future champion at tonsil hockey." *Silence* ''Tonsil hockey? Damn, I must have been in a really good mood if I based one of my insults on a game these guys don''t even know of.'' Feeling everyone''s eyes fall on him, Grim coughed lightly before continuing the conversation. "So how much of that did you actually understand?" "...Only the part about you calling me a bitch." "And the rest?" "Gibberish." ''So I wrote that letter all for nothing...'' *Sigh* "In my defence, I called a bunch of nobles inbreds the other day, so you don''t have to worry about being the only person I insult." Hearing this, Rebecca frowned. "You insult people other than me?" She asked ignoring the part about him insulting nobility. "Yeah. Quite frequently." [A/n: Lol, the realization that you''re not special.] Seeing that Rebecca had fallen silent, Finral took the opportunity to take control of the conversation. "Ahem, I know that you guys already know each other, but I think it''s time to introduce ourselves." "Oh!" The blonde haired girl said in surprise before looking a Finral. "I completely forgot about you." *Ooof!!* "T-That''s okay..." Finral said with a strained smile." "I guess I''ll go first then." The black haired one began. "I''m Erica and I work at the tailor shop across from here. I''m very good with measurements so if you''re ever looking for a personal tailor then I''m your gal." Next up was the blonde haired girl sitting next to her. "I''m Ellen, I work at the salon down the street. And while I''m used to working on women''s hair, if the right guy came along I wouldn''t mind cutting his hair." She winked at Grim. Seeing her actions, Finral turned to look at Grim and spoke in a hushed voice. "Did she ever cut your hair?" "Yeah." He nodded. "I didn''t want to pay and she never charged." "...." Moving onto the next person, Rebecca cleared her throat and gave Grim a hard look before introducing herself. "I''m Rebecca, I work in this restaurant and used to be Grim''s co-worker." "Wow!" Finral exclaimed. "Lovely jobs to fit such lovely ladie- "So Grim." Erica interrupted and switched her attention to Grim. "How''s the magic knight business going?" "Its pretty fun, I get to fight a bunch of strong dudes and managed to break a ton of bones in the process. I even got to cut a guy''s head off the other day. Its the perfect job." "That... sounds nice." Erica said with a cramped smile. "So my name is Finral and- "It must be scary right?" Ellen said ignoring Finral in the midst of his introduction. "Fighting all those scary guys not knowing whether you''ll live or die?" "Nah, that kind of stuff gets my blood pumping, and besides, I only came close to dying once." "What!? When?" Rebecca looked at Grim with concern. "When the capital got attacked by the eye of the midnight sun. I let a guy hit me with an attack but I underestimated the power it and almost died in the process. Haha, I was actually quite lucky that Mimosa got there so fast." "Mimosa?" For some reason, the minute Mimosa''s name escaped his lips the expression on all three girl''s faces changed. "Y-You have a friend named Mimosa? What an unusual name for a boy." Ellen asked with a strange smile. "Mimosa''s a girl so its not really strange." Grim responded before taking a sip from his drink. "A girl huh... Is she pretty?" Rebecca asked taking control of the conversation. "I guess... I mean she has really big b??bs and I sometimes feel like they''re daring me to squeeze them. Pretty funny right?" "Hilarious." Rebecca smiled and quietly clenched her cup so hard that cracks were starting to appear. "Um guys, I''m Finra- "How come you''re not working today? Did the boss give you a day off?" Grim asked Rebecca while Finral failed to introduce himself again. "Nah, my shift is being covered by a new girl." "Boss hired another waitress?" "Yeah, she''s right over ther- Where is she?" Looking around the restaraunt, Rebecca was confused when she didn''t see anyone serving the customers. "She''s not here?" Grim asked also looking around. "I guess she must be doing something else for the moment." "Guess so... So how are your siblings?" "Well Marc..." While Rebecca recounted the events that happened over the past few months Grim smiled lightly and kept nodding his head while wondering how Luck was handling Yami''s rage. ''Should I have ditched him? I mean he''s fast and all but who knows what Yami''s capable of when he''s angry... Nah, he''ll be fine, he''ll probably even try to fight him if given the chance. The real problem is that Yuno guy. The power he displayed recently was astonishing, the one spell I have in Breath of Wind doesn''t even compare to that wind eagle he launched at Asta. Hmm... after letting that wind mage attack me back then, I can safely ?ssume that Breath of Mist probably isn''t the best magic to use against wind mages. Actually, if I think about it now, the only magic I haven''t upgraded so far is Breath of Thunder. Having only one spell in my lightning arsenal is quite embarrassing... Since it doesn''t seem like I''m getting any buffs from fighting and tanking Luck''s attacks, I guess I''ll have to think of another way... I wonder if I can find anything in the library? Do we even have a library?'' "I''m really glad you think so to Grim." Rebecca smiled unaware that Grim hadn''t been listening. "Huh? Yeah sure." ''What did I agree to?'' Chapter 37 - The one who wont change After a couple minutes of small talk with the others, Finral was finally able to introduce himself and Asta to the girls. Unfortunately it didn''t seem to do him any good as they were too focused on Grim''s adventures as a magic knight. ''Why is this happening...'' Finral lamented on the situation. Talking to Grim, Rebecca brought up a topic that made Grim raise his eye brow. "The kids at the church came over the other day, they really miss you y''know." "Hmm, I''ll go visit them when I get the chance." "You should, that Marie girl has been coming here ever since you left." "Little Marie?" "Yeah, her brother even showed up a couple of times to take her back." "Marie has a brother?" Grim said in mild surprise. "Yeah. Shouldn''t you know this already?" "I''m not the best listener." He shrugged. "Why do you sound so proud saying that?" "I am what I am. I''m not the best listener and I''m completely fine with that fact. And its not like its effected me badly." "I had to remind you that a girl you''ve known for 2 years has a brother." "Like I said, it hasn''t effected me negatively." *Sigh* "You haven''t changed." "Its only been a couple of months." "I thought you might have m?tur?d in that time." Sighing, Rebecca played with her straw before looking up a Grim and asking a serious question. "Why didn''t you come back? I know that you achieved your dream and became a magic knight, but that shouldn''t have stopped you from visiting us." "I''ve been bu- "Busy, yeah you''ve said." Rebecca smiled wryly. "I-I know that we don''t really get along and that you''re probably happy that you don''t have to see me everyday but... it''d be nice if you dropped in every once in a while. The boss really misses you, I''m sure he''d be happy to see you again." "I- Before Grim could respond, a drunk idiot with messy hair came stumbling over reeking of alcohol. "Hey there sir knight!! Hahahaha! Finally gracing us with your noble presence are ya?" "What?" Grim looked at the man with some confusion. "You damn nobles think you''re all that just because you''re magic knights, well listen here, just because you were born with a lot of mana it doesn''t make you better than me!" "Actually it does, and I''m also not a noble." "Of course you are! Only nobles can become magic knights." The man laughed before downing the mug of ale he had in his hand. "You do know that the captain of the Green Mantis is a commoner right?" "Pahahahahahaha- Hey you." He suddenly stopped laughing when he saw Rebecca. "Aren''t you the girl who always brings that kid with her to work? Hahahaha, even when you''re covered in sweat you''re still working hard! If you''re that desperate for some coin, I can give you a a bit if you suck on my c- *BANG!!* Activating Breath of the Beast, Grim placed his hand on the drunken man''s ?h?st and with a less than gentle push, he sent him flying into a couple of empty tables in the corner. *CRASH!!* With the loud crash, the entire restaurant fell into silence as Grim slid his drink away from himself. Shocked by his actions, a wide eyed Rebecca gave him a questionable look. "What? Some of his spit flew into my cup when he was talking." Ignoring the stares, Grim got up and went over to the counter and ordered another drink. "Ah! Almost forgot." Walking over to knocked out drunk, he searched through his body until he found a money pouch. ''Bingo.'' "What are you doing?" Finral asked with a frown. "Taking my spoils." Grim answered without looking back. "You can''t do that!" Asta yelled "That''s stealing!" "So?" "In the church, they taught us that God doesn''t like thieves!" "Yeah, well God''s a d??k." Grim refuted. "Blasphemy!!" Some random person shouted from the background. "Erm Grim... I think we should go." Walking over with her friends, Rebecca tried to advise him. "Sure, let me just grab the money and then we can go." "Grim... If you do that you''ll be a criminal..." Feeling like things were about to get out of hand, Finral thought it best to inform Grim of the consequences of his actions. "And?" "You''ll be put in jail..." "And? I''ll just escape if needs be." "They''ll seal away your magic." "Oh..." Realizing the gravity of the situation and the potential outcome, Grim dropped the money pouch and stood back up and turned to face them. "Lets go." "What about the mixer?" Ellen and Erica walked over and asked. "Eh." He shrugged. "I''m over it." "Oh..." The girls frowned. "Yeah, so I''ll see you all later." "Grim wait!" Rebecca yelled and ran out after him. "Hmm?" He turned around. "I thought I made it clear that I was done with this mixer." "You did but..." Growing annoyed with Grim''s attitude, Rebecca couldn''t hold herself back and finally spoke her mind. "But do you have to be such a d??k about it!" "What?" "First you brush us off when we try to talk to you, then you ruin the mixer by attacking that drunk and then you leave us behind without even saying goodbye! How fu?k?n? selfish are you! Granted that you and me might have had our differences in the past, but I thought that you were better than this!!" "Better than this?" Grim frowned. "Oh Rebecca, I am much, MUCH worse. And I''m pretty sure I inadvertently saved you from being grabbed and groped by a stranger... Y''know, now that I think about it, you didn''t even thank me. Wow Rebecca, rude." "...What the fu?k are you talking about!!" "Dunno, if I''m being honest with you, I''ve been kinda zoning in and out of our conversations for a while now." "You''re not even listening?!!" "I''m listening... Sort of, I mean I can hear the words coming out of your mouth, but for some reason my brain doesn''t seem to register them... Its like whenever you have that resting bitch look on your face, my brain just checks out." "...Did you really just insult me and try to justify your reason for ignoring me in the same sentence?" To answer this, Grim shrugged. Sighing loudly, Rebecca suddenly found herself chuckling at Grim''s response as she realized that this was just how he was. "You really haven''t changed have you." She smiled. "Nope, this personality is pretty much locked in at this point." "What?" "I said you''re a bitch." "Ha, never change Grim, never change." Chapter 38 - Limit Breakers "Um... Are you sure about this?" Standing in the middle of the destroyed courtyard, Grim stood b?r? ?h?sted looking at Asta. "Yeah." He nodded before focusing on using Breath of the Beast. ''C''mon Grim, you can do this.'' Breathing out lightly, the glow on his body seemed solidify slightly as he struggled to raise his arms. Attached to each limb was a metal vambrace that weighed several pounds. "Okay then, lets do this." Gritting his teeth, Asta stomped down hard and shot forward at breakneck speed. *BOOM!!* Ducking under his blow, Grim''s left fist tightened up as he sent it flying forward at Asta''s unprotected stomach. *BANG!!* "URGH!!* Feeling the air in his lungs being forced out, Asta unintentionally bent forward. [Breath of wind] Switching breath style, the glow around Grim''s fist changed as a powerful gust escaped from his hand and sent Asta hurtling into the distance. *CRASH!!* Crashing down hard on the round, Asta was ?r??n?d slightly before standing back up. "How... was that?" He smiled and asked after catching his breath. "Pretty good." Grim answered after looking down at his fist. "Okay Luck, you can join in now." "Hell Yeah!!" Luck''s voice resounded from the distance as he flashed into view. "Lets do this!!" "Stick to ranged attacks please. Asta focus on close quarters." "Sure." Once the two of them knew their roles, the attacks started once more. --- *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Using the enhanced senses from Breath of the Beast, Grim zig-zagged through Luck''s attacks while watching out for Asta. Pulling out his smaller anti magic sword, Asta charged towards Grim while absorbing and storing some of Luck''s lightning attacks in his sword. "HYAH!!" *CLANG!!* Pulling out his beast swords, the three swords clashed into the other as the wielders put all their physical power into pushing the other back. *Crackle* "Huh?" "GOTCHA!!" Releasing the trapped lightning inside his sword, Asta unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning magic that exploded between them. ''Shit!!* *BOOM!!* Sent flying backwards from the shock wave created from the lightning release, a yellow aura coated Grim couldn''t help but be amazed at Asta''s ability to catch him off guard. ''He absorbed Luck''s lightning and waited until I was in a position in which I wouldn''t be able to dodge his attack... Heh, looks like your combat senses are growing Asta.'' Feeling the smile on his face starting to widen, Grim dug his heels into the ground f?r??b?? halting his momentum and bringing him to a stop. And thanks to him switching to Breath of Thunder, the damage that he received from the lightning was lessened and allowed him to keep on fighting. "EYES UP!!" Appearing above him, Luck''s maniacal smile was quite frightening as he rained down a storm of lightning bolts. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Switching to Breath of mist, Grim countered the falling lightning by using [Eight-Layered Mist] and released an outrageous amount of arc shaped mist attacks that collided with the descending lightning. *BANG!!* Placing more and more mana into their attacks, the shock waves coming from the collision caused the air to tremble as both parties refused to give in. Fortunately for them, they didn''t have to. Appearing by Grim''s side, Asta wasn''t out of the fight yet as he unhesitatingly swung the sword horizontally at Grim''s ribs. Feeling his danger senses suddenly fly off the charts, Grim eyes widened as he subconsciously forced his body to fall back as he transitioned into back flipping over the blade before switching to Breath of the wind. [1st Form- Dust Whirlwind Cutter] Covering himself in a whirlwind of air, Grim shot backwards creating distance between the two and watched as Luck''s Lightning fell onto Asta. --- After fighting for half an hour straight, the three Black Bulls felt their sweat roll down the side of their faces as their heavy breathing was audible to the now spectating audience. Breathing heavily, the glint in Grim''s eyes seemed to intensify as he started trembling. ''This is fun... THIS IS REALLY FUN!!'' Pushed to his absolute limits, Grim started laughing loudly as the aura around him started to climb to levels that it had never reached before. Drawn into their pace, Asta''s grip tightened as he pulled his large anti magic sword out of his grimoire. "Ha... ha... hahahahahahahahaha." Faced with the two of them, Grim couldn''t help but feel his battle intent increase. ''Crush them! Crush them!! Crush them!!!'' Releasing an absurd amount of magic power, Grim lost himself to his base instincts. Luck on the other hand had another thought racing through his head as he stared at Grim. ''FIGHT!! FIGHT!! FIGHT!!!!'' While unable to feel or use magic, Asta could tell from the pressure coming off the two of them that things were about to ramp up. Gripping his swords hard, a single thought ran through his mind as he felt his heart start to beat faster. ''BECOME WIZARD KING! BECOME WIZARD KING!! BECOME WIZARD KING!!!" Losing sight of everything around them, the one thing that connected the three boys was their growing urge to battle. --- Sitting on the sofa that they had brought outside, Yami sat next to a nervous looking Noelle who was watching the fight with furrowed brows. Taking a puff from his cigarette, he looked at all three members of his squad and smiled. ''These guys... They''re about to surpass their limits.'' --- *BOOM!!* Shooting off from his position, the ground below Grim cracked and shattered as he turned into a violent whirlwind and charged towards both boys. ''FIGHT!!'' Forgetting about his own teammate, Luck gathered a large amount of mana into his right hand and charged it into a massive ball of energy before firing it off at the approaching Grim. *BANG!!* Seeing the massive ball of lightning closing in on him, Grim sped up even further as he was moments away from crashing into it. But at the last minute, he jumped into the air avoiding the attack completely before switching to Breath of Flames. Feeling the sword in his hand change, Grim tightened his grip on the newly materialized sword as he raised it above his head. [9th Form- Rengoku] Slashing down without any hesitation, Luck watched transfixed as a descending beam of light filled his eyes. Flashing in front of him, Asta pointed his smaller anti magic sword at the beam of flames and let his sword do its thing. Watching Asta''s sword absorb the attack, Luck''s mind started moving again as he raced to the grounded Grim. *SWOOSH!!* Barely managing to dodge Luck''s fist, Grim subconsciously switched to Breath of the Beast and started swapping hands. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Cracking his lightning covered knuckles against Grim''s face, Luck unleashed a deadly flurry of lightning infused attacks. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Hit with upper cut that quickly transitioned into a swing, Grim was getting the beating off his life. --- Watching Grim''s face get pummeled, a worried Noelle turned to look at her captain. "Captain! We have to stop them, they''re going to far!!" "To far?" Hearing her, Yami looked down at the silver haired noble before focusing his attention back on the fight. "I think you''re forgetting something." "Forgetting something?" "That boy... He''s still smiling." --- ''Not yet...'' *BANG!!* ''Not yet...'' *BANG!!* ''Just a little more.'' *BANG!!* ''Almost there...'' *BANG!!* ''NOW!!'' "Eh?!" The spectating members of the Black Bulls said in union as Grim suddenly dodged Luck''s fist. "H-He avoided it..." Finral muttered in shock. "Must be a fluke." Magna laughed *SWOOSH!!* "He did it again." Vanessa noted. "Impossible! Luck has clearly gotten faster while Grim''s speed hasn''t changed. He shouldn''t be able to evade his attacks!" "He figured out the timing..." Yami suddenly spoke up drawing everyone''s attention. "Timing?" Finral repeated in confusion. Nodding his head, Yami gave a brief explanation. "I don''t how he did it... but that kid took those punches and figured out the amount of time Luck took inbetween landing one punch and launching the next... Now he''s simply adapting to it." "How is that possible?! At the speed Luck''s moving at Grim shouldn''t have enough time to think let alone dodge." Vanessa said. "Yeah... But its like his senses have been heightened to the point that he''s able to react during those small instances inbetween Luck''s attacks. Its almost like he''s subconsciously using Ki." The last point was spoken in a quiet voice. --- ''There.'' *SWOOSH!!* ''There.'' *SWOOSH!!* ''There.'' *SWOOSH!!* Keeping his eyes closed, Grim felt the air pressure from Luck''s fists brush against his cheek as his body seemed to move on its own weaving through attack after attack until finally- *BANG!!* *GASPS!!* He landed a hit. --- *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Almost as if he could see what Luck was about to do, Grim managed to evade another round of jabs and counter with several Breath of the Beast enhanced punches that quickly pushed Luck into a disadvantageous position. "Ha... Ha... Hahahahahahaha!!!" Tanking Grim''s blows, Luck''s speed increased to another level as both he and Grim lost themselves in the fight. --- "I-Incredible..." "Yeah..." Vanessa and Finral nodded. Watching Grim and Luck trade blows was always an entertaining spectacle to witness. But the fight right now was completely out of their expectations. "Their rate of improvement... its frightening." Noelle muttered with wide eyes. "You think that''s frightening?" Yami suddenly spoke up. "Captain?" "While those two may be impressive, you''re forgetting one other person." Turning their attention back to the fight, the rest of the black bulls felt their jaws hit the floor. *BANG!!* Blocking Luck''s punch with a punch of his own, blood seeped down Grim forehead while the smile on his face deepened. ''This is fun, This is fun, THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!'' *BANG!!* Blocking another one of Luck''s punches, a single beast sword materialized in Grim''s left hand as he blocked Asta''s sword swing. "H-He''s fighting them both!" "You''re focusing on the wrong thing." Yami said. "The wrong thing?" "Yeah." He nodded. "While those two are improving at an unusual rate, the real monster here is the kid with no magic that is somehow managing to keep up with them." Chapter 39 - Monsters Overflowing with mana, Grim''s breathing was hurried as his stamina was reaching its breaking point. Asta and Luck were both in a similar position, but just like Grim, the two of them were too caught up in this fight and neither wanted to give in. --- "Are they going to stop soon?" Magna asked. "Seems like they''re at their limits." Vanessa casually said. "Seems so." Yami nodded and got up. "Take them to their rooms once they collapse." Switching to Breath of Wind, Grim dodged Luck''s next swing and grabbed onto his collar. ''Gotcha!'' "Huh?" Surprised by his actions, Luck momentarily snapped out of battle crazed state. Standing face to face with a stunned Luck, Grim''s smile reflected in his eyes as he activated [Dust Whirlwind Cutter]. Surrounding his body in violent green winds, Grim who still holding onto Luck shot up high into the air until the two of them were above the base. "What the hell?!" Asta said after seeing the two of them shoot into the air. "Down you go!" Once they were high enough, Grim switched back to Breath of the Beast and used his enhanced strength to throw Luck towards the base with enough force that the sound of the wind whistling was heard by everyone on the ground. *CRASH!!* Crashing through the roof of one of the buildings, Luck finally stopped falling once his body made contact with the floor. ''So this... is my limit...'' Exhausting all of his remaining stamina in that last toss, Grim felt his eyelids grow heavy as he fell through the air and towards the earth. "GRIM!!" Noelle screamed. "Finral." Yami looked over at him. Nodding his head, Finral opened up a portal beneath Grim and everyone watched as Grim''s body vanished out of sight. "Done." "Good." Yami nodded before leaving. "Wait, where is he?" Vanessa said confused at the fact that Finral hadn''t opened up a portal next to them to bring Grim here. "I opened up a portal to his room." "You can do that!?" Noelle said in surprise. "Pretty cool huh." Finral said with a smug expression. "No, its actually really disgusting." "Eh?" "Going into someone''s room whenever you want even if they lock the door. You''re really disgusting." "Pfftahahahahahahahahahahaha." Vanessa and Magna burst into laughter. "Oh god! She''s got you pegged as a pervert!! Ahahahahahahahahahaha." Watching his squad mates enjoying themselves, Asta''s adrenaline finally started to calm down as he felt his body become heavy. *Thud* Dropping to the ground face first, sounds of his snores reached his teammates ears as they all turned to look at him. "...Can you get him to his room?" Everyone looked at Finral. "...." --- *Yawn* ''What time is it...'' Waking up in his room, Grim felt a feeling of serenity wash over him as his body felt oddly refreshed. The fight against both Asta and Luck had really taken a lot out of him. Even with his versatile spells he still wasn''t able to completely dominate the fight. In fact he had even lost himself in the process and enjoyed it. The feeling was quite new to him. He enjoyed crushing his enemies and driving them into a state of helplessness, but to actually enjoy the fight itself was definitely something he hadn''t experienced before. That being said, his decision to fight against both of them seemed to have been the right one. Fighting against Luck always forced himself to evolve during battle, but who knew that Asta was also capable of pushing him this far. That being said, it seemed like Asta and Luck also managed to improve aspects of their combat abilities as well. ''Even their growth is starting to become astounding. At this rate Yuno won''t be the only one who can pressure me... I''ve got to get stronger even faster.'' Coming down from his battle high, Grim''s personality returned to what it was before and allowed him to calmly analyze the situation. Climbing out of the bed, he stretched his limbs and turned his attention to the outside of the window. "What a nice day..." --- "Hey Grim, wanna play some cards?" Seeing Grim sitting down on the living space couch by himself, Vanessa wandered over with a pack of cards in her hand. "Just us?" He asked. "Yeah." She nodded. "Everyone else seems to be busy doing something." "Oh... Guess that means its just us." "Seems so." She smiled and started dealing the cards. --- "So you don''t have any memories prior to 5 years ago?" "Pretty much." "Woah, like aren''t you curious about who you used to be? Or who your parents were or why you ended up in that forest?" "Not really." He shook his head and picked up a card from the stack. After playing cards with Vanessa for the past hour and a half, the two got to talking and discovered quite a bit about the other. Remembering her own past and her own mother figure, Vanessa went silent for a minute before showing off a small smile. "Family''s overrated anyway. The Black Bull''s are the only family you need." "You think?" "Yeah, don''t you think they feel like family?" "I wouldn''t know, the whole amnesia thing remember." "Oh yeah, but what about those people that you used to work with? Aren''t they family?" "Rebecca and the boss?" "Yeah." She nodded. "You spent 2 years with them after all, surely you must feel something?" Shrugging his shoulders, he thought back on his time with the boss and Rebecca. ''Did I ever view them as family?'' While Grim was thinking about this, Asta suddenly burst through the door. "Grim!! What are you doing!!" He yelled when he saw him. "Hmm?" Grim raised his head and answered calmly. "I''m playing cards." "But what your promise to Rebecca?!" "My what now?" "You promised Rebecca that you''d visit the church today!" "Did I?" He frowned not remember ever promising her anything. "Yes! During the mixer remember!" "I forgot you guys went on a mixer." Vanessa chuckled before taking a swig of her drink. "Since you all came back alone, I figured none of you got any actions so you came back to lick your wounds." "I think that applies more to Finral than me and Asta." Grim added. "That sounds right." Vanessa said before collecting all the cards. "You''re done playing?" "Yeah, I''m feeling a bit tired at the moment." "Oh, see you later then." "Later." She got up and left. "Grim!!" *Sigh* "I''m coming Asta." Chapter 40 - Protective Getting his broom out of his room, Grim and Asta took to the air as they rode all the way to Sister Theresa''s orphanage. Apparently Grim had agreed to visit the orphanage with Rebecca and her siblings during the mixer event. Having no memory of making such a promise and having nothing better to do on his day off besides training and eating, he decided to go and see how the orphans and sister Theresa having been doing since his last visit. ''I wonder if I can beat her in a fight now? Guess we''ll find out later...'' --- "Why are you coming anyway? Its not like you really know them." Flying through the air at a relatively fast speed, Grim asked Asta a question that had been bugging him for a while now. Scratching the back of his head and laughing to himself, Asta put on a goofy smile. "Hehehe, I get along well with kids." "...I''m sure a lot of priests said that when they had to justify their actions." Grim muttered quietly. "What?" "I said I''m sure the kids will like you a lot." "You think so?" "Yeah, you''re quite likable." "Oh shucks, you''re embarrassing me Grim." Asta laughed lightly while showing off a magnificent smile. --- "He''s here!!" "He''s back!!" "GRIM!!" Descending from the sky with Asta sitting behind him, Grim was greeted to the sounds of children cheering and welcoming his arrival. "Woah, you''re really popular." Asta gasped when he saw the amount kids cheering Grim''s name. "...Yeah..." Seeing the kids looking excited over his mere presence, Grim couldn''t help but crack a smile as he realized just how much he missed these guys. ''Its good to be back.'' "Hey Grim! Over here!" Rebecca and her siblings yelled and called them over. Landing the broom, Asta and Grim jumped down and went to greet them. "Yo." Grim waved at the kids. "GRIM!!" The kids yelled and swarmed him in hugs. Seeing this, Rebecca smiled before her an expression of surprise appeared on her face. "You''re here too Asta?!" "Hehe yeah, I tagged along." --- "Me next!!" "No me!!" "No me!!" "Okay, okay, Marco come here you''re next." "YEAH!!!" Running over to Grim''s side, he let himself get picked up. Picking him up in his arms, a green glow coated Grim''s body as he activated a spell. [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] *BOOM!!* "WHOOOO!!!!" Marco screamed as the wind brushed past his face. *Sigh* "When I said you should spend time with everyone, I didn''t mean putting them in danger like this." Watching this all take place from the sidelines, Rebecca couldn''t help but sigh. Asta on the other hand was having the time of his life playing with a couple of other kids. --- Whilst Grim was busy showing the kids what it was like to be a human rocket, none of them knew of the impending arrival of one overprotective brother. --- Carrying two bags filled to the brim with toys and other commodities, Gauche headed towards the church with a spring in step. ''Marie~ Marie~ *hum* *hum* Marie~ Marie~'' Humming a song that he had created in his head from his prison days, Gauche''s mood took an extreme turn when he arrived at the church and saw his sister being brought down from the sky in the arms of another man. ''Marie...'' Seconds later, that small brown haired girl ran into the arms of another man and was swung around while laughing happily. Frozen in place, it took a moment for Gauche to process what he was seeing. At first he felt shock, then confusion... now he was feeling anger. Before Asta could go any further with Marie, Gauche appeared by his using some demonic method before knocking him to the ground. "Stay away from Marie..." He said in a dark tone while emanating a lot of malice. "EH!!?" Realizing that someone had just floored Asta at a speed that was invisible to the human eye, everyone who was on the ground couldn''t help but gasp in union. Drawn by the loud gasps, Grim landed back down on the ground and looked towards Asta''s direction. "Asta?" He called. "Hey Grim." Asta waved from the ground. Following the boot on Asta''s back from the bottom and up to the ?ssailant''s face, he was surprised to see that he recognized the person. "Hey, aren''t you that sister loving pervert from the black bulls?" Recognizing Grim as one of the newer members of the black bulls and as the person who had previously been holding Marie, Gauche''s anger turned into rage as he screamed at him. "FUCK OFF YOU BATTLE CRAZED LUNATIC! I''LL CRUSH YOU AND THIS LITTLE BALL OF MUSCLES UNDER MY FEET!!" "Crush me?" For some reason the smile that Grim was previously sporting seemed to have darkened. "I don''t know what I''ve done to piss you off, but... Lets test that theory shall we?" Switching to Breath of the Beast, a feral aura burst out from Grim''s body as his magic power started to climb. "S-So much mana..." Having never felt Grim''s release of mana before, Rebecca was almost forced to her knees by the oppressive nature of his mana. Feeling his aura, a large bead of sweat rolled down Gauche''s face. "STOP!!" A young voice suddenly yelled out. "Huh?" "Eh?" Turning to look in the direction that the voice came from, Grim, Asta and Gauche were surprised to see a panicked looking Marie standing next to trembling Rebecca. "Marie?" Gauche said when he saw her. "Stop being mean to Grim and Asta! They''re going to be my husbands in the future!!" Stunned by Marie''s sudden declaration of marriage, Gauche, Rebecca. Asta and Grim fell into silence as their eyes went wide in shock. ''Did-Did this 10 year old just say husbands... as in plural?'' Caught off guard by Marie''s proclamation, Grim''s mana release dispersed as he was still in a state of shock and confusion. It was only moments later that everyone snapped out of the stupor by Gauche''s eruption of bloodlust. "I''LL KILL YOU ALL." Chapter 41 - Backing it up ''Oh ho, now that''s some malice.'' Feeling Gauche''s murderous aura, Grim couldn''t help but smile as his fire sword manifested in his hand. Seeing the loving look Marie was giving Grim and Asta, Gauche couldn''t hold himself back as his mana started to fluctuate. "For tainting the mind of my beloved Marie, I SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH!" [Mirror Magic: Reflect Ray] Summoning out a large mirror tool, Gauche''s mana ran through his body and into his grimoire as he prepared to activate a spell. Grinning at the prospect at fighting a new opponent, Grim dug his feet into the ground as he lowered his stance as prepared to shoot forward. [Breath of Flames: First Form - Unknowing Fire] *BOOM!!* Bursting forward at neck breaking speed, Grim left a fiery trail of flames behind him as his figure shot forward and appeared in front of Gauche with the tip of his sword pressed against his adam apple. ''...W-What!?'' Unable to believe what had just occurred, Gauche blinked several times until he was sure that the cold feeling pressing against his throat was a sword. ''H-He''s in front of me!!'' "You thought you could kill me with this amount of skill?" Grim spoke in a quiet time so that only Gauche could hear him. "I don''t know if I should feel insulted or not." Feeling the sword dig deeper into his skin, worry finally descended upon Gauche as he realized that he was seconds away from death. And to make matters even worse, this damned brat was smiling like with fu?k?n? joy! ''This bastard!'' "You couldn''t even react to my speed and yet you thought you could kill me? Are you retarded?" But just before Grim could push the sword forward, a loud voice stopped him from proceeding any further and drew in everyone''s attention. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!?" "Huh?" "Eh?" Turning their heads in the direction the voice was coming from, the gray haired nun Theresa stood there and looked at him and Gauche questionably. --- "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO!!" Theresa shouted as both boys stood before her. "What? I was just showing him that you shouldn''t be arrogant unless you have the ability to back it up." Grim smiled innocently while switching between magic attributes for practice. "Arrogant? YOU''RE THE MOST ARROGANT PERSON HERE!!" "Hehehe yeah." ''This muthafucka!'' [A/n: Lol, calm down sister.] "Tch, where''s Marie." Gauche muttered no longer caring about Grim. After sister Theresa came out, Marie and the other children were sent back inside the church while she reprimanded the two of them. "And you!!" She turned her attention onto Gauche. "Why in God''s name did you pick a fight with this psycho!" "Psycho? That''s a bit harsh." Grim said after hearing Theresa chastise Gauche. "BE QUIET!!" She yelled growing more and more annoyed by Grim''s nonchalant attitude before switching back to Gauche. Ignoring Gauche getting reprimanded, Grim realized that he still hadn''t had a rematch with Theresa yet. "You Goddamn sister loving fr- "Hey sister, how about we go at it again?" Grim asked without anyone around them understanding the context. "What?" Surprised by Grim''s sudden question, Theresa stopped reprimanding Gauche and looked at Grim with confusion. "You know what. The last time I was here you left me laying flat on my ?ss from exhaustion. For an old lady you really wore me out, now I want to show you that just what I''ve learnt in these last couple of months!" ''WHAT!!'' Misunderstanding the context behind the conversation, Rebecca''s eyes went wide as she couldn''t stop looking back and forth between Grim and Theresa. ''WHAT THE HELL!!'' "You okay?" Asta asked after seeing her face go pale. "G-Grim and sister Theresa t-they..." "I know right." Asta nodded and made a serious face. "To think that Grim would get beaten by an old lady like sister Theresa, I never would have guessed." "Wait what?!" --- "You damn brat! Stop saying things that will make people misunderstand!!" "Eh?" Taking a moment to think about his previous wording, it slowly dawned on him what she was talking about. Looking at the horrified look on Gauche''s face and then back at Theresa, Grim couldn''t help but burst into laughter as he dropped to the floor and started rolling around. "Pffthahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Oh God!! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!" "What''s so funny about getting with me!" Theresa glared at him after seeing tears gathering in the corner of his eyes. [A/n: Weird thing for a nun to say.] Unable to hear over the sound of his own laughter, Grim continued laughing until Theresa eventually left. --- "Oh fu?k, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much." Standing up from the ground, Grim felt a stretching pain in his cheeks as he started to massage them. ''Hey Grim." Rebecca called out seeing that he had finally calmed down. "Hmm?" "Its getting dark, do you guys have a place to stay the night?" Now that she mentioned it, Grim realized that Asta basically dragged him here and the two of them hadn''t really planned on staying for this long. ''How did I not notice how dark it was getting?'' [A/n: Because you were to busy laughing...] Seeing as how Grim had fallen silent, Rebecca gathered her courage and spoke up. "I-If you have nowhere else to go, you guys can spend the night at my house." "Really?" Grim looked at her suspiciously. ''She''s being weirdly nice.'' "Sure, its only one night." "...What do you say Asta?" Grim turned to his friend and asked. "Sure!" He smiled. "I guess we''re spending the night then." Grim said turning back to face Rebecca. "Oh... Are we bringing him along?" She pointed to a stone faced Gauche. After realizing that he hadn''t spent anytime with his sister, Gauche was stuck in this frozen state as he was still recovering. "Lets leave him." Grim said after seeing that Gauche was paying attention to them. "We can''t do that!" Asta denied. "He''s a member of our squad! We can''t just leave him." "Sure we can, all we have to do is walk away without looking back." "GRIM!!" *Sigh* "Fine, you can bring the sis-con along with us." "Thanks Grim!" Asta smiled before picking Gauche up. Chapter 42 - Vanishing Act "Ahh, this is good." Asta said rubbing his stomach after filling himself up from Rebecca''s food. "You''ll make a wonderful bride one day." Hearing that, Rebecca''s face went red as she quickly glanced at Grim. "You think so?" "Totally! Your future husband will definitely love your food!" Asta reaffirmed. "Hey sis!" Rebecca''s sibling Luka pulled on the hem of her sleeve. "Yes?" "Ask him." She pointed at Grim. "What?" "If he enjoys it duh! They say the way to a man''s heart is through his stomach." "What?! Who taught you this?" "Its what the ladies who get their hair done at Ellen''s salon talk about. Just the other day, that Evelyn lady was talking about her husband could no longer get it up and how she had to seek a younger stallion to ride." *Silence* "..." "..." "..." "Don''t go to Ellen''s salon anymore." --- By the time night had fully descended, Asta, Grim and Gauche each went to their separate sleeping areas. Originally Grim thought that the three of them would be bunking together, but Rebecca had got all the kids to sleep together in order to make room for their guests. ''Ahh, so this is a bed that she can afford... Kinda reminds me of the years I spent sleeping on the ground.'' Laying down on one of the kid''s beds, Grim couldn''t help but remember the time he was homeless and surviving in the forest. ''Seriously, how poor is she?'' Thinking back on it now, Grim didn''t actually know a lot about Rebecca. Besides the times that they worked together inside the restaurant, the two of them hadn''t really interacted with the other. ''Wait a second, was I socially inept?'' While Grim was experiencing an epiphany, a loud explosion brought him out of his thoughts as he felt the house shake slightly. ''What the hell was that?'' Jumping out of bed, Grim charged out the room and ran into a distressed looking Rebecca. "Rebecca?" Hearing her name, the distressed looking Rebecca turned back and saw Grim staring at her. "Grim! My siblings!! My siblings are missing!!" "What?!!" *BANG!!* Feeling the house tremble again, Grim ran past Rebecca and followed an active mana signature that was close by. --- "Its snowing?" After being thrown out of the house by Gauche''s mirror beam attack, Asta''s face was warped into one of surprise as he noticed that it was snowing despite it not being winter. "I couldn''t care about that, now die." Standing in the middle of the hole in the wall that Asta had shot through, Gauche looked down on the gray haired boy and prepared to attack again. But just before he could proceed, the voices of several parents looking for their children sounded out. "Euryan, where are you!!" "Chris!! Chris!!" "Fon! Come out Fon!!" "Huh? What''s going on?" Asta said aloud as he heard the parents shouting. "Asta!!" Grim yelled coming out from the house. "Grim?" "Have you seen Rebecca''s siblings?" "Rebecca''s siblings? They''re sleeping aren''t they?" "DIE!!" Gauche yelled before firing a mirror beam at Grim and Asta. ''What''s going on?'' "Did you find them?!" Rebecca asked after hurrying out. Shaking his head, Grim looked at all the worried parents. ''It seems like there a lot of kids disappearing...'' "This snow... I feel mana in it." "Huh?" Turning around, Asta, Grim and Rebecca saw Sister Theresa and another nun walking towards them. "Sister?" Enhancing his senses with [Breath of the Beast], Grim realized that there was indeed small amounts of mana mixed in with the snowflakes. "This snow... its not natural..." He raised his head to look at Theresa. "What is this?" *Sigh* "Its a magic that lets the user control a person. I don''t know whether its fortunate or not, but it can only control children who have yet to fully develop their own magic." ''Controlling others...'' Taking a second to think about it, a dark thought flashed through Grim''s mind as he realized that there was no way that Theresa would come all the way to Rebecca''s house and leave the children alone in the monastery while a child kidnapping spell was active. "The children from the orphanage..." Seeing the look on his face, Theresa nodded. "They''re missing to." *BANG!!* "What do you mean they''re missing! Marie better not be one of them!" Gauche grabbed Theresa by the collar and spoke in a dark voice. "Grim?" Rebecca called out as she saw Grim not reacting. While all of this was going on, a flood of memories spanning over two years flashed through Grim''s mind as he recalled the glowing looks on the children''s faces whenever he came to visit. "Grim?" Rebecca called out again. "Huh?!" Snapping out of it, he realized Rebecca was talking to him. "Did you hear that? That mirror guy has a way to find the missing children." ''He does?'' Nodding his head, Grim looked at Gauche before getting his broom. "I''m coming with you." Rebecca said getting ready to sit on his broom. "Nope." Grim said and gently pushed her off the broom. "You''ll only slow me down." Seeing the nonchalant look on his face, Rebecca clenched her teeth as she spoke in a dark tone. "Grim, I know we haven''t seen each other in a while, but don''t you think its a bit rude to mention a lady''s weight!" ''Huh? Y''know what, I don''t have time for this.'' Confused by what she was talking about, Grim gave her a weird look before turning away. "You coming Asta?" "Of course!!" He nodded before taking a seat behind Grim. Seeing that everyone was ready, Gauche activated his mirror tracking magic and took to the skies on his broom. "Lets go." Nodding their heads, Grim, Asta, and sister Theresa followed his actions as the group of mages disappeared into the distance. --- Feeling the wind blow against their faces, Grim''s eyes hardened as he wondered why anyone would kidnap a bunch of children. Chapter 43 - Tremendous "Do you feel that?!" Flying through the skies at a fast pace, Grim, Theresa and Gauche felt a mana fluctuation emanating from the distance. "Over there!" Asta spotting a cave ahead of them. "So that''s where they took the children." Theresa frowned. "Hey! What''s that down there!" Asta shouted and pointed to what looked like a small child laying in the snow. "Marco!!" Grim''s eyes went wide when he saw the figure laying motionless. Diving down with Theresa following behind them, the three of them gathered around the small child''s figure. "How terrible!" Theresa gasped when she saw him from up close. "He''s covered in wounds." "Marco! MARCO!!" Grim shook the boy but he wouldn''t respond. "That won''t work. He''s under some kind of spell that''s leaving him in a vegetative state." "Asta!" Grim looked over at him. "Yeah." Asta nodded before touching Marco''s head with the cross guard of his sword. And as if by magic, light started to return to Marco''s eyes as he looked up and saw the three of them huddling around him. "G-Grim..." "Marco." Grim smiled. "It hurts... It really really hurts..." Marco said while wrapping his arms around himself. "You poor child." Theresa said before opening up her grimoire. [Flame Recovery Magic: Soothing Holy Light] Glowing with a gentle orange glow, a couple of small candles materialized into sight as their glow encapsulated Marco''s body and caused the wounds he had suffered to start healing at a visible pace. "T-This feels nice." Marco smiled innocently and looked up at Grim. Seeing that he was alright, Grim smiled back before standing back up and turning away from Theresa and Asta. "Sister." He called out before he started walking towards the cave opening. "Grim?" Sensing that something was wrong, Theresa looked at Grim''s back which slowly distancing itself from the three of them. Not looking back, Grim left a single sentence behind before disappearing into the cave. --- "ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!" "Hahahahaha!! Its working!!" Listening to the screams of a little strapped to a mana su?k?n? chair, a black haired man in spectacles laughed loudly as countless children lay at his feet. "Hey Neige! Bring the next one, this ones fallen unconscious!" The man yelled to a feminine looking white haired young man. "Yes brother." The white haired young man nodded while pulling a brown haired girl towards his brother. "No! Let me go!" Marie screamed and tried to pull her arm back. Ignoring her cries, the white haired man known as Neige continued to pull on her arm while warning her not to anger his brother. "MARIEEEE!!!" A sudden voice shook the cave as Gauche soared in on top of his broom. Seeing his sister''s arms being grabbed by an unfamiliar male, something inside of Gauche snapped as he released a beam a powerful beam of light that almost decapitated the white haired Neige. "M-M-MAGIC KNIGHT!!" Neige scrambled to his brother''s feet. ''Tch, how did they find us already?'' "Hey." The black haired man looked at his brother who was hugging his feet. "Hurry up and use your magic and get rid of him." "Y-Yeah." Neige said as his grimoire flipped open. [Snow Magic: Snow Cry] Thrusting his arms forwards, a large stream of snow burst out from his palms and swarmed its way over to Gauche. "I''ll kill you..." Gauche whispered after seeing the bruises and scuff marks on Marie''s body. "I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" [Snow Creation Magic: Snow Friends] Gathering his snow together, an army of large snowmen started to form. "Get him snow friends!!" Neige cried. Clouded by rage, Gauche didn''t put such things in his eyes as he activated another spell. [Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain] Manifesting multiple mirrors around the snow army, light started bouncing between them destroying anything in its path. "M-My friends..." A look of despair appeared on Neige''s face as watched his army of snowmen crumble before his very eyes. "What the hell!" The black haired man''s eyes went wide as he used his mana reading monocle attached to his glasses to measure Gauche''s mana reserves. ''Dammit! No wonder this guy is so strong!'' "Kill him obviously!!" *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* While the two brothers were busy trying to think of a method to deal with Gauche, the sound of a person''s footsteps echoed from the cave mouth as a black haired young man slowly came into view. ''Dammit! Don''t tell me they brought back up!'' Focusing his monocle on the distant figure, the black haired man''s face soon froze as he could not believe the sight before him. "I-Impossible..." He muttered with his eyes trained on Grim''s figure. *Tap* *Tap* "This much mana..." *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap* "Its..." *Tap* *Tap* "Tremendous." [First Form: Unknowing Fire] Ignoring the unconscious children laying on the ground, Grim''s body was shrouded in an orange glow as he flashed forward melting the snow in his path and arriving in front of the black haired man. "Boo." He grinned. "Heeeeee!!" The man''s eyes went wide as he stumbled backwards. *BANG!!* Throwing his fist forward, Grim slammed it into the man''s face and watched as his figure was thrown backwards crashing into the cave wall and causing some rubble to crush him. "GYAAHHHH!!!" "Brother!!" Neige yelled after seeing his brother get crushed by stone. "Don''t worry." Grim''s smile grew wider as he slowly turned to look at him. "I''ll play with you later." Chapter 44 - Muddy Waters "Hey, what''s your name?" Grim walked up to the black haired man. Still wearing the monocle, the black haired man still couldn''t comprehend the amount of mana emanating from the young man in front of him. "B-Baro." He stuttered. ''What a shitty name.'' "Okay then Baro." He crouched down so the two were eye level. "Explain to me why I can''t feel any mana from those kids?" "F-Fuck off." "Tch tch tch, wrong answer." Materializing his flame sword, Grim held it above Baro''s leg and slowly pushed it down. "AHHH!!- "Shhh." Grabbing his face, Grim held a finger to his lips. "Now now, save your screaming for later. Because if you do it again, then I''ll have to really hurt you." Releasing a large amount of malicious aura, Grim''s smile grew bigger in Baro''s eyes. "Understand?" "Mmmpff." Baro hastily nodded while holding back his urge to groan. "Good, now answer the question, why don''t I feel any mana from those kids?" "W-We su?k?d it out of them!!" Looking at the boys laying on the ground, Grim misread the situation. "You fu?k?n? pervert!" "Wha- *BANG!!* Punching him again, Grim rained down a barrage of punches until Baro''s face was bruised and bloody. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* "P-Pwease Stwop!" "AHHH!!!" A scream suddenly sounded from the distance as Neige was knocked on his ?ss by Gauche. ''E-Even Neige lost! Fuck! We''re screwed this time...'' "Hey." Grim called gaining his attention. "Why would you do this?" Just as Baro was about to open his mouth, his little brother Neige answered in his stead. "Friends *Sob* I just wanted some friends." "Friends? You molested a group of kids and forcefully pulled their mana out because you wanted friends?" ''Molested?'' Standing to his feet, Grim turned away from Baro and walked over to the defeated Neige. "You wanted friends?" "Good." The smile on Grim''s suddenly turned dark. "Because I''m sure you''ll make plenty in hell." "Wha- *Stab* "Ah?" Feeling a sharp pain spreading through his ?h?st, Neige looked down and saw a jagged sword poking through his body. *Splash* Pulling the sword out and waving the blood off the blade, Grim watched as Neige fell to the ground. Watching this happen from a distance, Baro couldn''t help but curse internally. ''Dammit, he killed Neige!! Where the fu?k are those bastards that are meant to be picking up the mana canister!'' "Hey Grim we came to hel- But what surprised him even more was the small pool of blood gathering around Grim''s feet. "G-Grim... Is he- Before he could speak another word, Asta was interrupted by a cheerful sounding "HEYO!!" Sounding out from above them, a portal opened up and a girl with messy black hair and red framed glasses appeared. "ITS YOU!!" Asta pointed when he saw her. "Heyo Asta!!" She smiled and waved before locking onto Grim''s figure. "Ah!! You must Grim! Valtos told us you were capable of using various different magic types! I can''t wait to open you up and find out how you do it!!" "Asta." Grim looked over at him with a bit of confusion. "Who is she?" "She''s one of those Eye of the Midnight Sun guys that kidnapped me!" "Hmm..." Asta closed his eyes and put his hand on his chin. "Well she was with the ones that attacked the wizard king so I think so." "She was there when that happened?" "Yeah." "Cool... I''m go kill her now." "Eh?" Switching to [Breath of Wind], Grim used [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] to launch himself into the air and charge towards the girl. "GRIM WAIT!!" Asta yelled but it was to late. After hearing their conversation, Gauche''s killing intent had soared. ''Eye of the midnight sun! They''re the ones who organised the kidnapping of Marie!!'' Gathering his mana together, Gauche''s didn''t care that Grim was near the girl as he unleashed the full power of his spell. "Hehe." [Gel Magic: Sticky Salamander] Breaking her grimoire open, the girl created a salamander looking creature composed of nothing but gel. "Woah!!" Grim exclaimed barley avoiding getting hit by one of Gauche''s beams. *BEAM!!* Sinking herself inside the gel monster, the light beams bent once they passed through the gel. ''She distorted them!'' Gauche''s eye widened. ''Interesting.'' Grim smiled as he held the sword above his head. [Breath of Mist - 2nd Form: 8 Layered Slash] Switching breath styles, Grim unleashed a flurry of long ranged mist attacks. *SLASH!!* *SLASH!!* *SLASH!!* "Oh?" The girl inside the gel tilted her head once she saw her salamander''s limbs get loped off. ''He changed from wind to mist... How intriguing!!'' "Go Salamander!!" She yelled and commanded the creature to spit out a ball of gel. "Nope!" Using [8 Layer Mist] Grim cut the ball of gel before it could reach him before switching to [Breath of Wind] to close the distance. Appearing above her, the glow on Grim''s body changed from green to orange. [Breath of Flames - 9th Form: Rengoku] Slashing down with all his strength, a beam of concentrated fire blasted down from his sword and tore a hole through the Salamander''s back exiting its stomach. "Damnnn!!!" A voice sounded out from the distance. "You can use fire magic too!! That is just to interesting!!" Turning his head to the side, Grim saw a smiling Sally standing next to the collapsed Baro. ''How did she- Thinking back to his [Rengoku], the memory of a ball of gel separating itself from the creature flashed in his mind. ''Was she inside that?'' "Hey hey Grim! What else can you do? Can you use water magic? What about earth? *Gasp* Can you use gel!? What about- "Hey girl!!" Baro suddenly called out interrupting her. "If you can get me out of this rubble I can provide support with my mud magic!" Falling silent, the girl turned to face him with a not to happy expression on her face. "Did you just interrupt me when I was talking to Grim?" "Huh?" Before he knew what was happening, Baro found a large syringe being poked into his neck. "Eh?" Feeling a fluctuation in Baro''s mana, Grim''s eyes suddenly went wide. "GET THE KIDS OUT OF HERE AST- "GYAAAHHHHH!!!" Baro''s scream cut him off as a mud like substance started pouring out of his eyes and nose. "Ba...ro." Neige muttered still somehow breathing. "What the hell?" Gauche said looking at Baro. "His magic''s increasing like crazy." "GYYYAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Screaming loudly, Baro''s body started to expanded as mud started coursing through it and elevating his mana. Dropping down next to Asta, Grim watched as Baro transformed into a gigantic mud monster. "GYAARRRHHHHH!!!" The monster roared. "Ah shucks, I guess this ones a failure as well." The glasses girl laughed after seeing what Baro had turned into. "Get them out of here Asta!" Grim yelled remembering that the kids were still in that magically induced dazed state. "Got it!" He nodded and started using the cross guard on his sword to dispel the magic on them. "We''re getting out of here Marie!" Gauche said picking his sister up and flying out with her. "Eh!?" Asta looked in shock as Gauche took his sister and left. "Monster!!" "IT''S A MONSTER!!" "WAAHHH!!" The kids now snapped out of their dazed states screamed and cried when they saw the monstrous looking Baro towering above them. "Shit!!" Grim yelled seeing the fist approaching him and Asta. *BOOM!!* "Yeah!!" The girl cheered seeing both Asta and Grim evade the attack. "I''ll make sure to take both of you home with me!!" "Tch." Waiting for the dust cloud to clear up, Grim spat out some mud that had entered his mouth, and looked at the girl with annoyance. "I''m really going to enjoy killing you, you crazy ?ss bitch!" "Hahahahaha." She burst into laughter. "Asta... Get the kids out... I''ll deal with this." "What! You can''t deal with something that bi- "Asta! I got this." He turned away to look at the monster. "Plus the kids will need you to protect them from any stray rocks that I can''t block." "I-" Clenching his fists, Asta grit his teeth and looked down before turning his back on Grim. "Don''t die." He said before gathering the kids and leaving the cave. ''Die? Heh.'' He smiled. ''As if I''d end my vacation this early.'' "D..ie..." The mud monster spoke. ''So it can speak?'' Pointing his sword at the giant monster, the glow around Grim turned into that of a soft orange. "Sorry bud, but there''s no way I''m getting killed by a giant shit with legs." [Breath of Flames - 1st Form: Unknowing Fire] *BOOM!!* Chapter 45 - Mirror Force Leaving a trail of fire in his wake, Grim shot forward with explosive power as he closed the distance between him and the monster. "D..ie.. You... will die..." *BANG!!* Dodging the fist of the giant mud monster, Grim charged forward with a smile on his face. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] Switching breath styles, Grim launched himself high into the air until he was at a height that surpassed the monster. "DIE!!!" [Breath of Flames - 9th Form: Rengoku] *BOOM!!* Releasing the high powered [Rengoku], Grim watched in satisfaction as a hole appeared in the monsters ?h?st. "Fuck Yeah!!" "Hehehe, that''s not enough Grim." The girl laughed as the hole in the monster''s ?h?st started regenerating. "D...IE!!" The monster shrieked as it attempted to swat Grim out of the sky. Using [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] again, Grim avoided getting hit and shot towards the ground. ''It can regenerate... I guess that means this is a battle of attrition... I wonder who''ll last longer?] Realizing that this monster could only regenerate due to the now massive amount of mana it had, Grim wanted to force it to use up all that newly gained mana and kill it once it ran out. The only issue was that this plan depended on him not getting hit and being turned into paste before its mana ran out. ''Guess I''ll keep injuring it and force it to use up all its mana healing itself.'' --- "Give up Grim!! Just let me capture you and Asta." The girl yelled watching Grim evade every attack. "PISS OF OFF YOU NERDY LOOKING CUNT!!" "Aha, I really like you!!" She grinned. "English muthafucka! Do you speak it!?" [A/n: I know they don''t actually speak english, but that line was to good to pass up] Clenching its muddy fists, the monster looked down at the white haired Neige that was still alive despite losing quite a bit of blood. "B-Baro..." He looked up at the mud monster with tears in his eyes. "I-Its me Neige." *SWOOSH!!* Not understanding his little brother''s words, the monster swung its fist downwards. "Oh for fu?ks sake!!" *Slash!!* *BOOM!!* "Y-You saved me." Neige stuttered in shock. "Saved you? I''m just making sure that I''m the one that kills you and not this thing." "What?" "Just think about how humiliating it''d be if I failed to killed you but this giant piece of shit did? I can''t have that." "Y-Your still going to kill me?" "Obviously." "Oh..." A forlorn look appeared on his face. "Now then, back to the monster." *RAAWWRRR* Grinning at the sight of the mutated Baro, the glow around Grim started to change from orange to a gray color. "Hmm? Is that another magic type?" The girl wondered after seeing two jagged swords appear in his hands. Closing his eyes, Grim stood proudly as he took in a deep breath. While [Breath of Flames] seemed to be the most effective magic type to use against Baro, [Breath of the Beast] was the magic that he was most proficient in and felt comfortable using. Taking a step forward, he watched as the monster healed its hand and threw another punch down at him. *Deep Breath* *BOOM!!* Pushing mana into the soles of his feet, Grim combined the physical enhancement he gained from the Breath to push himself up from the ground and shot towards the approaching fist. *BANG!!* "Oh wow." The girl raised her eyebrows seeing the mud arm getting whittled down. ''Faster!'' ''Faster!!'' ''FASTER!!'' *SLASH!!* *SLASH!!* *SLASH!!* Pushing the muscles in his arms to the absolute limit, a look of joy and madness flashed through his eyes. Swinging his arms wildly, the gray glow on his arms and his swords started to solidify as his grimoire started glowing brightly. *Slash!* *Slash!* *Slash!* ''Faster!! I have to be FASTER!!'' As if hearing his declaration, the light coming from his grimoire intensified as new words started appearing on the [Breath of the Beast] page. ''FASTER!! I''LL GO EVEN FASTER!!'' [Breath of the Beast - 5th Fang: Crazy Cutting] "ARRRRGHHHHH!!!" Grim screamed as the gray aura around him became solid and transformed into rotating gray blades swirling around his body. "NICE!!" The girl yelled and gave him a thumbs up. Having activated a brand new spell, Grim''s cutting speed increased as he practically tore through Baro''s arm cutting even the smallest bits of mud into nothing. "A-Amazing..." Neige''s eyes lit up as he watched the scene. "To think you''d actually cut its arm into nothing... Now I really want you Grim." The girl grinned as she watched Baro''s arm grow back. "I''m not done yet!" Grim shouted as he kicked off the cave wall and shot towards the creature''s back. [Crazy Cutting] Crashing into Baro''s back, Grim''s blades violently hacked away at it from the inside to the point that he tunneled his way to the front and burst out from its ?h?st. "WOW WOW WOW!!! You''re seriously amazing!!" The girl laughed as the wound slowly closed up. ''Tch, even with my new spell I''m not depleting its mana fast enough.'' "GRIM!!" A voice sounded out from the entrance. "Huh?" [Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain] *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Turning back, Grim saw Gauche and Asta running back inside. "We''re here to help!" Asta yelled. "I''ll save you in order to receive Marie''s love!" Gauche added. ''Tch, I said I had this.'' Grim smiled and turned back to face the monster. Bringing out his second anti-magic sword, Asta slashed at the monster sent out a flying slash in its direction. "EAT THIS!!" *RAAAWWWRR!!!* The monster screamed before healing up again. "EH!!!" Asta reacted with surprise after seeing not even that worked. "COOL COOL COOL!!" The girl cheered. "Hey Asta!! What was that? A long range anti-magic projectile? How did you do it!? How does it work!? AHH! I can''t wait to open you and Grim up!!" ''Dammit!!'' Gauche grit his teeth. ''The only way to beat this thing is to either deplete its mana or damage it faster than it can regenerate!'' Clenching his fists, Gauche realized that this wasn''t an opponent that he could defeat. ''FUCK!!!'' He screamed internally remembering that this was the thing that kidnapped Marie. Before arriving in this area with Asta, both of them had seen Grim tear through its ?h?st and deplete some of its mana. ''Wait a second... I''ve always used a double of myself to fight... What would happen if I used it on someone else?'' After seeing the damage that both Grim and Asta were able to do to that monster, Gauche had no choice but to acknowledge the two of them. ''Tch, to think that I''d have to rely on someone else...'' Looking into his grimoire, Gauche was surprised to see new words forming on one of his pages. "ASTA!! GRIM!!" He called out and drew their attention. *BANG!!* Dodging another blow from the Baro, both boys turned to look at Gauche who was revealing a small mirror embedded in his left eye. "What the hel- [Mirror Magic: Mirror Brigade] Flashing brightly, 4 new Grim''s and Asta''s appeared out of thin air. "WHAT!!" The glasses girl exclaimed in shock. "GO!!" Gauche yelled. "ON IT!!" The brigade yelled as they launched themselves towards mud Baro and tore him apart. ''Heh.'' Gauche smiled. Combining Grim''s ability to cut the monster''s body into nothing so it wasted more mana and Asta''s ability to nullify magic, the large amount of Grims caused the monster to expend its mana reserves and allowed the vast number of Asta''s to deliver the final blow. Chapter 46 - Leader "HELL YEAH!!" Asta and Gauche screamed when they saw the monster Baro fall to the ground. ''Heh.'' Grim smiled. While he could have dealt with the monster by himself, it would have taken a considerable amount of time compared to him receiving help from his squad mates. ''Well he wasn''t that strong so I guess I don''t feel to bad about receiving help.'' "A-Amazing..." The glasses girl muttered after seeing both Grim and Asta destroy Baro. "I want them... I really REALLY want them." Breathing heavily, Asta couldn''t hide his grin as he looked at Grim standing in the distance and gave him a thumbs up. But just as Grim was about to smile back, his smile faltered as a smaller looking Baro erupted from behind Asta. "WATCH OUT!!" "Huh?" Asta turned around and felt his eyes go wide. "ASTA!!" *SWOOSH!!* Baro''s large fist descended with enough force to squash Asta''s puny body. [Snow Magic: Snow Cry] Climbing to his feet, the weakened Neige, thrust his arms forwards and pushed Baro back with his spell. [Breath of the Beast: Sudden Throwing Strike] Seeing Baro being pushed away from Asta, Grim didn''t waste any time as he threw his blades at him nailing him through the head and instantly killing him. "Dammit GRIM!!" Asta yelled. "You killed somebody again. *Shrugs* "I-Its okay." Neige suddenly spoke up. "M-Me and my brother have done terrible things... A-And that thing... wasn''t my brother anymore." While saying this, he looked as his brother''s lifeless body and then turned his attention to Grim who was standing in the distance. "I-I''m a bad person and I know I''ve done wrong..." ''No shit! You kidnapped kids!!'' "I-I know that I deserve the same fate as my brother, but before you kill me, please allow me atone for my sins." "....Nah." *Prepares to throw swords* "What? He kidnapped a bunch of kids and forcefully drained them of their mana! Who knows what kind of long term repercussion that can have! What if they can''t use magic Asta! What then? You of all people should know how hard it is to live in this world without being able to use magic! Do you really think him saying sorry is gonna fix that!?" "I- No. But he''s sincere! And maybe the kids will be okay." "But what if they''re not! What if this one event has screwed them for life!" "Grim please." Asta begged. Looking at him, Grim couldn''t help but feel annoyed. This was especially true when he looked at the sad looking Neige who was bowing his head. "Tch, fine. As a result of you saving Asta''s life, I guess I can spare yours for the time being. But if those kids have problems with their magic in the future because of you and your piece of shit brother, then I swear to you that next time I stab you, you won''t be getting back up." "I-I understand!" Neige nodded. "That''s great!" Asta smiled and pat him on the shoulder. "Um Grim..." Neige called out looking embarrassed "A-After I serve my time in prison, w-would you consider being my friend?" ''...Is this guy retarded?'' *Sigh* "Sure." Grim yawned no longer paying attention to him. "Reall- *Beam* *THUD!!* "Neige!" Asta suddenly yelled drawing Grim''s attention. "What the!" Looking in their direction, Neige was laying on the floor bleeding out while a large shard of light with four horizontal lines in it stuck out of his body. ''S-So fast!'' Grim''s eyes went wide. If not for him having his senses enhanced by [Breath of the Beast] Grim was sure that he''d currently be in a similar state to the bleeding Neige. ''I couldn''t even react!'' "Oho, to think you''d actually be able to avoid my attack." An unfamiliar voice rung out. "Its you!!" Asta yelled after seeing the figure in the sky. "You were the one that attacked the wizard king when he came to save me!" "Ah, looks like I have yet to introduce myself." Standing on top of a portal with Valtos behind him was a man with long white braided hair that extended into several long extensions with a Kippah covering the top of his head. "I am Licht, leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun." ''That grimoire... it has four leaves...'' Seeing his grimoire and feeling the off the charts mana emanating off of him, the blood in Grim''s body started to boil as his own mana started to rise. ''This boy... he''s different from the rest of them.'' "Sally." He called out to the glasses girl who had been watching this whole time. "Who is he?" "Who him? He''s Grim! He''s like super interesting and can use several different magic types!" "Is that so..." He said running his eyes over Grim''s figure. Having never met him before, he was confused as to why this boy gave him a weird sense of familiarity. While he was looking over Grim, the sight of Asta''s tattered grimoire tore his attention away. "As interesting as that boy is, the real question is." Licht tone suddenly turned dark. "Why the hell does someone like you have that grimoire!?" "My grimoire?" "Ha... Ha... Hahahahahahahahaha." Grim started laughing drawing everyone''s attention. "I-I don''t know." Sally said as she felt Grim''s mana sky rocket. "Grim?" Asta looked at him. "Finally, finally, FINALLY!!" *BOOM!!* Unable to hold it back any longer, Grim''s mana exploded out of his body and pushed Gauche and the others back a bit. "Forget about mud monsters and lonely bitch boys! I finally get to fight someone worth a dam- "That won''t work." "Eh?" Blinking rapidly, Grim''s danger senses shot through the roof as Licht''s voice sounded out behind him. "A human with that much mana should not be allowed to live." "GRIM!!" Asta screamed as he saw Licht create and orb of light in his hand and aim it at Grim''s head. ''I''m fu- *BANG!!* Stabbing through the orb with his katana, Yami appeared from Finral''s portal saving Grim in the process. "Tch, why is that every time you two go somewhere together, something crazy has to happen?" Chapter 47 - Tricks "Yami!!" Asta yelled in surprise. "Yami..." Grim frowned. Taking a puff out of cigarette, Yami couldn''t help but sigh. "Looks like you guys have gone and gotten yourselves into trouble again." Looking at Licht standing a bit away from him, Yami''s eyebrows furrowed. ''This guy''s mana... why does it feel bottomless?'' Comparing Grim''s and Licht''s mana was quite interesting to Yami. While Grim''s mana capacity was outrageously large, it still felt like it had an end even if he couldn''t sense it. But this guy... he was an entirely different beast. "How did you know that we needed help?" Asta asked walking over to their side. "What do you mean how did I know? Obviously someone from the town you were in called the magic knight headquarters and reported about a vast kidnapping incident. And since the black bulls were the closest squad in the area they left it up to us to deal with the issue. Though I never would have guessed that you''d be facing someone so troublesome." "Troublesome? Not unbeatable?" Grim commented. "Unbeatable? Just cause he has high mana doesn''t mean shit if I can cut his head off." Falling silent for a moment Grim eventually nodded. ''True, having more mana just means I can win in a war of attrition, but if I fought someone stronger and more skilled than me, then my mana reserves wouldn''t mean much unless I could drag the fight out.'' "Master Licht." Valtos called out while Yami and the rest were talking. "Do you want me to get reinforcements?" "No." He shook his head. "I''m quite interested in fighting against a dark magic user." "Very well." Valtos bowed. "Hey brats." Yami called out to Grim and Asta. Surprised by the question, both boys looked at each other before replying in union. "OF COURSE!!" "Heh, then make sure to watch closely." Saying this, dark magic burst out from his blade as he walked towards Licht. "To think a human would willingly approach me like this..." Licht smiled. "How DISGUSTING." Waving his hand forward, he fired off a rain of light shards at the three of them. Seeing this, a look of concentration appeared on Yami''s face as he took a step forward. *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!! ''He blocked them!'' Grim and Asta''s eyes went wide. "Interesting?" Yami frowned. "Its been bothering me for a while now, but who the hell are you?" "WAIT! YOU DON''T KNOW!!" Asta exclaimed. "Should I?" "He''s the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun." "Really? I thought he''d be some big burly guy who could eat a cow in a single gulp." ''What kind of people have you met in order to come up with such an image of a person!?'' "I don''t know whether to feel disappointed or not." --- "O-Of course!" Finral stood straight and opened up a portal. "I''ll make sure not to leave his side." "Oi!" Yami called when he saw Finral tiptoeing away. "You better come back." "Ah?" "What? You weren''t expecting me to walk all the way back home were you?" "N-No! Of course not! Its just that I''m running low on mana at the moment and coming back will be hard on me. I mean it, really." "You mean it huh? Well I really mean it too. So after you''re done dealing with that guy. Get your ?ss back here." "Y-Yes captain!" --- "To actually talk so casually while facing me. You really are an arrogant one aren''t you." Licht smiled before activating his spell. *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* Yami blocked all the projectiles. ''Woah.'' "Hmm... How about this." Flashing forward at an inhuman speed, Licht appeared behind Yami and prepared to use the attack that he initially planned to use to kill Grim. *BANG!!* Covering his blade in dark magic, Yami spun around and broke the attack with a slash of his sword. "I-Incredible..." Asta muttered with his mouth wide open. "So this is the power of the great heretical magic knight." Licht smiled. "Hey you, have we met before?" Hearing this caused Licht''s eyes to widen slightly before returning to normal. "I don''t know anyone who uses light magic, so who the hell are you?" Yami asked pointing his sword at him. "Heh, you really are an interesting one aren''t you." He laughed before continuing. "Let me tell you a story captain of the Black Bulls." "Hmm?" Finishing his story, Licht looked at the three of them. For some reason, hearing that story caused Grim to feel a weird sense of sadness that he quickly brushed off. "What was the point of that?" Yami asked confused before clearing his throat. "But if we''re telling stories then I guess I can tell you mine." "Wait what?" "Ahem, once upon a time there was a boy whose parents were fishermen. At a young age the boy''s parents sent him out on a boat to fish, but being getting ship wrecked one day he drifted up on the shores of an unknown location. He was then met by all sorts of trouble due to cultural and racial discrepancies, but he beat the shit of those people and then became the boss of his own, the end. So how''d you like my life story?" "HOW DARE YOU MOCK LORD LICHT!!" Valtos suddenly yelled after hearing Yami''s story. "SHUT THE FUCK UP GHOST FACE!!" *TING!!* ''Tch, his attacks are getting faster.'' Defending against Licht''s sneak attack, Yami noted that his attacks were getting faster as he felt a bit of the light shard graze his shoulder. "I guess that story doesn''t really mean anything to you considering that you''re a foreigner." [Light Magic: Light Swords Of Conviction] Fending off the attacks again, Yami started talking. "You were the one who did that to Fuegoleon weren''t you?" "Correct." Licht nodded. "After all that meticulously planning and scheming I finally had him fall into my trap." "Figured that must have been it because." Yami''s aura suddenly changed. "There''s no way he''d lose to a weak ?ss attack like this!" [Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] Channeling his dark magic into his sword, Yami released a darkness slash that escaped his sword and flew at Licht. "Eh?" Licht''s eyes widened in surprise as blood seeped out of the wound that appeared on his face. "MY LORD!!" Sally and Valtos shouted. "Y-You wounded me..." ''He wounded him...'' "You couldn''t have beat him without resorting to tricks huh." Yami''s voice rung out amidst everyone''s shock. "But now that there''s no tricks or traps that you can hide behind, I''ll show you the true power of a magic knight captain." "Heh." He smiled after hearing his threat. "Oi brats." Yami turned to the two boys. "You''ve been watching right?" "Yes." They both nodded. "Good, now do what I just did." Chapter 48 - Ki "Good, now do the same." "What?" "I said do what I just did." *Grim and Asta look at each other.* "Pffthahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" The two burst out laughing with Asta hugging his gut while Grim rolled on the floor. "Oh God! Hahahahahahahahaha, do the same he says! Hahaha did you hear him Asta? He said do the same! Hahahahahaha." "...." Looking at the two of them laughing, a vein appeared on Yami''s forehead. "Holy shit I can''t breathe!" Grim laughed wiping away his tears. "I get it now, so this is dark magic." [Light Recovery Magic: Healing Ray of Light] Activating a new spell, the wound Yami left on his cheek shone brightly before closing up and disappearing. "That''s better." ''He can also use healing magic...'' Seeing this, both Grim and Asta stopped laughing. "Well would you look at that, I guess guys with tons of mana can do a lot of things." Yami said glancing over at Grim. "Don''t look at me like that, I''m pretty sure that I can''t do the same." "Have you tried?" "Tch, guess there''s no time like the present." Yami said while waving his sword to defend against another light shard. "Oi brat, go get hit by one of that pasty dude''s attacks and then heal up from it." "What!? Are you dumb? What if I die!?" Walking over to his side, Yami grabbed him by the face and started squeezing tightly. "Who do you think you''re calling dumb you little shit? And so what if you die? Just surpass your limits and come back to life." "The fu?k do you mean come back to life you psycho! No normal human can come back to life after dying!" Hearing him being called a psycho, Yami''s grip tightened. "Ow ow ow!! Let go!!" "If I said do something then just go and do it." "I can''t even see his attacks! How do you expect me to copy you!" "What?" "Oi short stuff listen up, this concerns you to." "Eh?" Asta looked confused. "The thing I''ve been reacting to this entire time is something that the people from homeland call Ki." "Ki?" "The bodily energy that people give off when their eyes move, when they breathe, when their muscles contract and just their presence alone. That''s what we call ki. You must then feel that ki and then move according to what you perceive that the person will do next." "So ki is basically just guessing what the person will do next? Doesn''t sound to impressive." Grim said feeling like Yami was glorifying ki to much. "No you idiot!" Yami''s grip tightened again. "Ow! Fuck! You don''t need to squeeze me if I don''t understand!" "Both of you have experienced this before right?" "We have?" *Flashback to Asta finding Valtos by feeling his presence during the zombie attack* "Oh yeah." He nodded. "And you Grim, ever since your little spat with Luck and shorty over there, you''ve been using it subconsciously." "I have?" "Yeah, thinking about it now its actually really weird that you can do it. Are you sure you''re not from the land of the rising sun?" "Dude, I have amnesia! There''s literally no point in asking me this!" Dropping him to the ground, Yami quickly slashed at a couple more light shards while continuing the explanation. "A magic swordsman?" Asta and Grim repeated. "Yeah, in this regard I guess Grim''s closest to me." "What about me!?" Asta asked with sparkling eyes. "You? You don''t have any mana so you can''t be a magic swordsman." "Oh." Asta''s enthusiasm dropped. "But your natural power is higher than Grim''s and since you can use anti-magic I guess that means you can be an anti-magic swordsman." "Woah!" "By natural power, do you mean muscles?" Grim asked skeptically. "Yeah." ''While I may have trained my body and can use [Breath of the Beast] to improve my physique, I guess I still can''t completely match up to Asta... That God really did screw me by only giving me 5 years to get stronger.'' Chuckling to himself in his head, Grim climbed to his feet. "Oh? Gonna go and try learning healing magic?" Yami asked. "What? Fuck no! I''m gonna go test out that ki thingy. You''ve said that I''ve been doing it subconsciously before right? If that''s the case how come I couldn''t react to that guy''s attack?" "Dunno, go figure it out." Yami shrugged and pointed at Licht. "Tch." Grim kissed his teeth before walking towards Licht. --- "My lord, let me deal with this one." Valtos asked Licht. "Hmm..." Licht frowned as he looked at the approaching Grim. "Very well. Also take that magic-less boy''s grimoire when you have the chance." "Yes my lord." Valtos bowed before turning his sights onto Grim. ''For turning your sword against lord Licht, I will punish you!!'' Gathering mana into his right hand to create and orb of magic. --- ''Okay Grim, you can do this, its just like Yami said, you''ve been doing this subconsciously all this time, how hard can it be to actually do it if I pay attention- *BANG!!* Spinning around, Grim manifested his beast swords into his hands and slashed at an orb of magic that came flying out of a small portal. ''Was that it? No, I sensed his mana and not his ki.'' *BANG!!* ''Dammit! I did it again.'' *BANG!!* ''Fail.'' *BANG!!* ''Fail.'' *BANG!!* ''Fail!'' ''Goddammit Grim! FOCUS!'' Calming down, Grim controlled his breathing and closed his eyes. ''Remember the sensation I felt when fighting against Luck.'' *Breathing in* *Breathing out* "To close your eyes in the midst of battle! How arrogant you magic knights are!" Valtos sneered before charging another ball of magic. It was just a shame that what he had said couldn''t be heard by Grim as he had immersed himself in his own world. ''Feel it in the air, in the earth, in the people... feel it all around us.'' *Breathing in* *Breathing out* "What''s he doing?" Asta asked. "He''s refining his ki." Yami answered. "Refining it?" "Yeah." He nodded. "He was already using it before, now it looks like he''s grasping that feeling again and going above it." "Going above it?" "Just watch." --- "DIE YOU CLOVER KINGDOM TRASH!!" Valtos screamed before launching a much more powerful orb of mana through his portal. ''THERE!!'' Grim''s eyes snapped open as he moved his arm in a similar fashion to Yami to slash at the attack without turning to face it. "Holy crap he did it!" Asta gasped. "No." Yami shook his head. "Look at his eyes." "His eyes?" Asta looked closer but couldn''t see anything wrong with his eyes. "What''s wrong with them?" "Heh, that kid really is a monster, he''s seeing the world in a completely different way from us." Yami smiled. "A different way?" What Yami was saying was true, after getting a grasp of ki, Grim felt that there was something laying deeper inside, something that would was much Much greater. "So this is it huh." Grim smiled as he looked down at his swords and back up at Valtos. "This is the Transparent World." Chapter 49 - Genius "Um Yami, what''s going on with Grim? Its like his whole presence has changed." Ignoring Asta''s question, Yami''s sight was completely focused on Grim''s figure. Unlike the normal Grim, the current version of him standing in front of them gave off a sense of peace and tranquility. Something that would not normally be ?ssociated with someone like the foul mouthed Grim. Even Yami was surprised seeing Grim like this, even his ki had somehow managed to calm down. "That son of a bitch really surpassed his limits." The Transparent World. According to the few memories Grim had from his life on earth, he could remember that the transparent world was the ability in which could only manifest itself in a select few. From his memories alone he remembered that only 2 living Demon Slayers were capable of manifesting this power and even then, one of those two were the protagonist. According to his memories, the Transparent World was an ability that allowed the user to see the muscles, blood flow and joint movements of their opponents. This allows the user to accurately predict and anticipate the movements and attacks of their opponents while also enhancing the user''s breath style and movement speed. But knowing about the ability and actually using it were two different things. Unlike in the Demon Slayer manga, Grim manifested this ability through the use of his Ki making his senses extra s?ns?t?v? to his surroundings. Mixed with his ability to sense mana and his animal-like instincts gained through [Breath of the Beast], Grim felt like he could perceive everything. *TING!* *TING!* Waving his arms slightly, Grim blocked another barrage of attacks from Valtos. "What the hell!" Valtos frowned. "Cool!!" Asta''s eyes shone again. "Its like he moved his sword to the exact location the attacks were gonna appear from!" "I can see it." Grim finally spoke while blocking another attack without looking. "I can see just how weak you are." He smiled. "What!!" Valtos face warped into one of shock before changing into one of rage. "In front of master Licht... HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE ME IN FRONT OF HIM!!" He screamed before summoning a large number of small portals around Grim. Smiling, Grim switched to [Breath of Mist] "I can also see how you''re about to get clapped." [Breath of Mist - 2nd Form: Eight Layered Mist] With his breath styles enhanced by the Transparent World, a single slash of his sword caused 8 mist slashes to shoot out and target the soon to appear attacks. *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* "I-Impossible..." Valtos fell to his knees as he realized that he had humiliated himself in front of Licht. Watching Grim defend against his attacks after declaring that he would wipe the boy out left Valtos feeling both embarrassed and enraged. Turning his attention onto Asta as his grimoire, a look of determination appeared in his eyes as he created another ball of mana and prepared to open up another portal. *BANG!!* "Eh?" Feeling a powerful gust of wind blow past his face, Valtos turned to look behind him and saw one of Grim''s Beast swords embedded into the wall. "Hey Asta." Grim''s voice rung out. "This guy''s about to attack you, get ready." "Huh?" Asta looked around confused. "Ahahahahahaha." Yami burst out laughing. "You''re already capable of sensing that huh. Man, I''m such a good teacher." "I thought you said that I was doing it before you gave me advice." "...Don''t get ???ky you little shit. If I said its because of me then its obviously because of me." "Fuck you! Don''t try and take my achievements for yourself!" While the two begun to argue, Licht looked at them with visible confusion. "Oi Asta!" Yami screamed. "Go learn ki while I discipline this bastard!" "Okay?" "Hahahahahaha." Licht started laughing joyfully. "You clover kingdom people truly are funny." He smiled before turning serious. "To actually stop fighting and argue in front of me, you truly are trash." Releasing his magic power, he tried to pressure them. But now that Grim had grasped ki and had gained the Transparent World ability, he wasn''t about to let this shit fly. [A/n: Lol.] "Are you really trying to flex right now? Y''know what? Fuck ghost face! I''m bout to clap you right here and right now!" [A/n: I know Grim probably shouldn''t be acting ???ky after just getting a new ability, but did anyone really think he wouldn''t act like this now that he can actually fight back?] Releasing his own mana in opposition to Licht''s, Grim pushed back on his attempt to pressure them. "Come over here and find out." Grim smiled mixing his bloodthirst in with his mana. "Oi shrimp." Yami turned to Asta. "We''ll make sure that this guy doesn''t interfere, now go learn ki." "Yes sir!" He saluted and ran forwards. ''...Wait a second, we''ve been talking aloud this entire time, surely that ghost faced idiot wouldn''t attack now that he knows what we''re tryi- "FOR LORD LICHT!!" ''....'' --- -After learning ki and hitting Valtos''s mana orb back at him through the portal- "I did it?... I DID IT!! GRIM! YAMI! DID YOU SEE THAT! I DID IT!!" "Eh?" "Now that I think about it, its actually kinda creepy that you can." "B-But you told me to do it!!" "Yeah, but I expected you to fail. After you did, I was gonna show up and show you how its done then wait for you to praise me. *Sigh* You made all my hard work go to waste. You''re gonna have to compensate me when we get back." "For what!" "Ruining my plans." Ignoring their conversation, Licht looked at Valtos laying flat on his back and was overcome with anger. "First you mock me with your life story, then you attack my people and now you still have the gall to ignore me once again and converse amongst yourselves." Licht''s voice was filled with anger and hatred. "How much longer will you try to humiliate me!" "What?! You''re the one who attacked us first!" Asta argued. "SILENCE!!" "Urgh." Releasing a bright light from his body, Asta, Grim and Yami were forced to cover their eyes for a minute. [Light Creation Magic: Bright Judgement Whip] Standing there with a rope made of light floating around his body, Licht looked at the 3 of them with disgust and amusement. "This spell moves around like a whip, I wonder if you''ll be able to predict its movements? But even if you can''t that won''t matter, and because whips are used to carry out punishment, it suits the three of you quite well!" *Sigh* "Time to go clap a muthafucka." --- ''Okay, in hindsight I probably shouldn''t enrage someone capable of collapsing a cave on me.'' "Oh shit! He''s lost his damn mind!!" Swinging his whip made of light around wildly, Yami and Grim were able to defend against the attacks aimed at them, but were unfortunate in the fact that the whip was also hitting the ceiling and causing the cave to collapse. --- "Fufufu." Licht laughed lightly with his hand covering his mouth. "To think that even though I held back by so much, they would still fall. I guess they were to weak, them and this world." "A-AMAZING!!" Valtos stood up and started clapping. [A/n: Just realized that Valtos is Patri''s hype man...] "That power is like that of the GODS!!" [A/n: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha] "In front of you even a magic knight captain is- *Rumble* *BOOM!!* Yami, Grim and Asta burst out from under the rocks. "T-They''re alive!" Valtos looked in shock. "See that?" Yami focused his attention on Asta. "If you concentrate like I just did, you can even feel the ki of nature as well! Now you won''t die even when your opponent uses a cheap shot like burying you in a rock slide." "Really?! Ki rocks!!" "I know right!" Grim added. "If I didn''t have ki I''d have to put a little bit more effort in surviving a bitch move like that." *Licht bruh face* Chapter 50 - Ignored Hearing the three of them treat him like air and insult him without caring for his presence, Licht felt a throbbing vein appear on his forehead as his left eye started to twitch. *Stretches* "So you still gonna fight that feminine looking dude?" Grim asked. "Huh? Of course!" Yami nodded. "I said that I was gonna show them what a magic knight captain was capable of so I need to finish this." "Ha. Very well." Grim smiled and turned to Asta. "Have you got a grasp on Ki yet?" "I think so." "Hmm... Can you do me a favor and take care of that creepy hype man?" "Huh? Sure, but what are you gonna do while I''m doing that?" "Me? I''m gonna see what a magic knight captain can truly do." *BOOM!!* Releasing his mana, Yami reinforced his body with reinforcement magic and shot towards Licht. ''And so it starts.'' --- *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* ''So this is what Yami is like when he''s serious.'' Grim thought while watching in wonder. [Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] "That story you were telling me a while ago wasn''t everything right? Tell me how it ends." *BANG!!* "Tell me what you guys are really after." *BANG!!* "Since you posses that type of grimoire it means you''re from the Clover kingdom right? Then why attack your home?" "Heh." Licht smiled when he heard him. Dodging another attacked, he opened his mouth and answered. "Since you''re a foreigner, I''m sure you''ve noticed just how warped this kingdom really is." "What?" "You''ve seen it haven''t you?" Licht continued. "How there are people dying in the streets from starvation yet there are people living not to far away who struggle to even finish all the food that has been presented to them. Don''t you think that''s unfair?" *BANG!!* "They say that mana amount is used to decided your status in life, but in reality they''ll judge you on your background and use that as an excuse to hold you back." *BANG!!* "As an immigrant, you should know better than anyone how they''ll use the fact that you were born in another country to hurt you and say that they are doing it for justice." "What are you talking about?" Yami frowned releasing another slash. *BANG!!* Evading the attack like it was nothing, Licht''s revealed a benevolent smile. "We, the members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun have risen up from the dregs of this warped and have come out of the shadows in order to correct this corrupt world." ''Is it?'' "Collecting rogue mages, attacking the capital, having a four leaf grimoire, all that power has gone to your head." *BANG!!* "Gone to my head?" Dodging another slash that blew out a large chunk out of the cave, Licht laughed lightly. "I''ll have you know I''m perfectly fine thank you. All I''m doing is fighting fire with fire." "Haha. So you''re one of those people who think they''re always right huh. Can''t say I hate people like that. However, I really can''t stand you!!" *BOOM!!* --- ''Whoa... Even with ki and the Transparent World active, I''m still struggling to see everything that''s going on... Is this really the power of a captain?" Watching the cave''s infrastructure crumble from their battle, Grim doesn''t even notice that his smile was starting to widen. ''That Power, That Strength, I Want it, I WANT IT!!'' Looks like Asta''s gotten better at sensing ki. Watching him defend and deflect the multiple mana orbs flying at him through the portals, Grim couldn''t help but nod. Despite his thirst for power, Grim couldn''t deny that he liked that Asta was getting stronger. Unlike him, Asta was someone who was truly unlucky and he could respect his work ethic. "Die!" Licht yelled throwing a light shard at Yami. "Not today." Smiling, Yami created a black hole that su?k?d in Licht''s attack and trapped him in place. ''What the hell?'' A look of surprise appeared on Licht''s face as Yami lifted his blade above his head. [Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Black Blade] "HYAH!!" Slashing his sword down, Yami''s blade was covered in dark magic and stretched itself making its range longer. During the time Yami had activated his spell, Asta had jumped through Valtos''s portal and decked him in the face. --- Coughing up a mouthful of blood and breathing really heavy, Licht found himself chuckling. "Amazing, to think that there would actually be a type of magic that could actually absorb mine, haha, I was actually so surprised that I forgot to move. That being said, dark magic is ridiculously slow, I guess that''s to be expected with it being the opposite of light." "You really like listening to the sound of your own voice don''t you?" Yami asked lighting a new cigarette. "Now hurry up and use that healing magic of yours, and while you do that I''ll take the opportunity to mess you up real good." "Master Licht..." Sally muttered seeing him sweating. "I have to admit Yami Sukehiro... you''re the second person that has the power capable of defeating me." "Second?" "But enough is enough." Licht continued ignoring Yami. "For you, I''ll use the strongest spell I have." ''Strongest spell?'' Grim frowned as he felt Licht''s mana rise. "Due to this being my strongest spell, its only natural that its also my fastest, and unlike my whip, the area of effect on this one is ridiculous, so good luck surviving." "Well shit." Grim said as Yami and Asta jumped to his side. "The second I unleash it, it will be the end of you captain of the Black Bulls." "Like hell it will!" Asta yelled. "There''s no way our captain would lose to that kind of spell!" "Um Asta." Grim interrupted. "I know you can''t sense mana and all that, but if you could, you''d realize just how bad this situation is." "What! Even you think its bad." "Yeah." Grim nodded before turning his attention to Yami. "Any ideas?" "Nope." [Dark Magic: Black Cocoon] Manifesting a spherical shell of darkness around the three of them Yami hoped that it''d be enough. "This isn''t gonna work." Grim commented. "Got any better ideas?" "Nope." He shook his head. [Breath of the Beast - 5th Fang: Crazy Cutting] Surrounding himself with rotating gray blades manifested from him mana, Grim stood behind Yami. "What are you doing?" "Hoping that when that attack breaks through this shell, the magic surrounding my body will slice that pasty dude''s magic and protect me." "That won''t work." Yami shook his head. "For one, there are too many gaps in your spell and that light attack is probably fast enough to pass through. And two, if I die here I''m making sure to bring you with me." "What? Why do I have to die just because you weren''t strong enough to survive!" "Don''t argue with me, just die when I die." "Again and again and AGAIN!!" Licht snapped at them. "How is it possible that you two are still ignoring me despite me being seconds away from killing you!" "Meh, that''s a problem for the me 10 seconds from now to deal with." Yami shrugged acting like it was no big deal. "Yeah." Grim nodded. "That and there''s also the fact that you''re not very intimidating. I mean you you''re even wearing makeup for gods sake. If I''m being totally honest, I''ve been holding back the urge to call you a fag for quite a while now." "Wow, you really don''t mince words do ya?" Yami smiled. "Its not really my style. Besides, haven''t you ever hear the phrase honesty is the best policy?" "That sounds like something they''d say at the church." Asta added. Hearing them start another conversation, Licht realized that they had completely forgotten him again. "A...ha...ha...hahahahahahahahahahahahaha." He suddenly burst into a fit of strange laughter. "What''s wrong with him?" Grim asked hearing the laughter. *Sigh* "Why is it always the deranged ones that are the strongest." Yami sighed taking a puff out of his cigarette. "Weird thing to say from the strongest person in our squad." Grim coughed. "I get it now." Licht finally spoke while being bathed in light. "The three of you... You truly don''t deserve to live in this world any longer." "Oi Yami." Grim called. "He''s talking to himself again." Hearing this, Licht''s eye twitched violently. ''Y''know what! Screw talking to them! I''ll kill them now!!'' "DIEEE!!!" [Light Magic: Divine Judgement Cannon] Releasing a beam of concentrated light magic that was too fast and wide to dodge, Grim, Asta and Yami watched as Yami darkness sphere covered them blocking out all light. ''If this flamboyant looking guy really kills me I''ll ask the next God that reincarnates me to wipe away this life''s memories.'' As if hearing Grim''s prayer, Gauche appeared in front of the orb of darkness with a huge mirror. "Eh?" Yami said feeling his ki outside the orb. [Mirror Magic: Full Reflection] *BANG!!* Bouncing off the mirror, Licht watched with widened eyes as his spell came flying back at him. ''Oh shit.'' *BOOM* Chapter 51 - Third Eye After surviving that ridiculously hyped up spell of Licht''s, Yami opened up the cocoon and the three of them greeted Gauche and Finral before walking over to the defeated Licht. "Yo Yami." Grim called. "He''s still alive." "Eh? Seriously? If he could survive that then why were we so worried?" "I know right. I think we might have overestimated him." Grim agreed. "Ah, I guess it just goes to show you that sometimes you shouldn''t be to careful." "Yeah." Grim nodded. "We should be more reckless from now on." "I hear ya." *Groan* Listening to them talk about him as if he wasn''t here caused Licht to groan in dissatisfaction. "Since we caught the leader does that mean we''ll get a reward?" Grim asked while kicking the downed enemy leader. Taking a puff out of his cigarette, Yami thought about it for a quick second before nodding. "Firecracker? You know that captain Fuegoleon isn''t dead right?" "Really?!" "Yeah, he lost his right arm though." "His right arm... Pfft, he might as well be dead then." Opening his grimoire up, Yami started looking for a binding spell. *Sigh* "I really Really hate you two." Licht sighed and closed his eyes. "Now where was it... Ah, there it is, dark bind." Yami muttered to himself before suddenly looking up. Feeling it to, Grim lifted his head and looked in the same direction. "Isn''t that spacial magic?" Asta asked seeing a portal open up ahead of them with three people appearing out of it. *Yawn* "Wow, this place is quite a mess isn''t it." Flashing forward at a blinding speed, a man with black hair with white patches dressed in the garb of the Eye of the Midnight Sun appeared in front of Yami and placed his hand on his grimoire''s cover. Caught off guard by his speed, Yami''s eyes went wide briefly before he clutched his katana. [Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] "Hyah!" "Whoa there, you almost took my arm off. *Sigh* See, this is why I didn''t want to do this." The man ?r??n?d as he turned to look at his companions before placing his hand on the small wound that got caught in Yami''s attack. [Light Recovery Magic: Healing Ray of Light] Emitting small particles of light out of his hands, the wound on the stranger''s arm healed. "Not another one." Grim muttered. "Another light mage!" Asta exclaimed while Yami frowned. "Thanks for showing up." Licht smiled while a pink haired girl used fire healing magic on his body. Hearing him, Licht chuckled. "Let me introduce you to the strongest members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun." ''The strongest?'' "When it comes to battle their power even exceeds mine, they''re known as the Third Eye." ''The way this guy is smiling right now is irritating.'' "Ha! Stronger than you? Stop bluffing!" Finral laughed. "Bluffing?" The man with the white patches in his hair yawned and gathered magic in his right hand. "Like we have time for something as pointless as that. If you don''t believe it then I''ll just show you." "What!!" Everyone gasped when they saw what he did. Manifesting a sword in his hand made out of dark magic, the black haired man showed it off. Smiling at the look of shock on their faces, Licht continued his monologue. "Your kingdom use the clover plant as its symbol right? With each leaf representing faith, hope and love. Well the name of these three are the opposite of that." [Imitation Magic - Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] "Rhya the disloyal." Swinging his blade at Yami and the others, Rhya launched Yami''s magic at them. "Tch, don''t go using other people''s magic." Yami countered. [Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] "Vetto the dispair." Licht continued. ''Shit!'' Surrounding his arms in magic shaped like a bear claw, the burly Vetto charged at Yami and started slashing at him. ''Beast Magic!'' Grim''s eyes went wide and the edge of his lips started turning upwards. *TING!!* *TING!!* *TING!!* "Despair Despair Despair! Show me your Despair!" *TING!!* "Fuck!" Yami cursed as Vetto broke his blade. "And Fana the hateful." "YAMI!!" Asta yelled as he and the rest watched as a powerful stream of fire shot towards him. *BOOM!* "I hate you." The pink haired girl spoke. "I''ll never forgive you." "Tch." Removing his black cocoon, Yami couldn''t help but kiss his teeth and focus on the little Salamander perched up on her shoulder. ''Spirit magic? Doesn''t that Yuno guy also have it?'' "Fana the hateful was it?" Yami called out. "Y''know that nobody like hysterical women right?" "I''ll kill you." "See what I mean." Standing side by side, the three members of the third eye faced off against Yami and the others. *Sigh* "You guys stay here." Yami said before taking a step forward. "Sorry Yami." Grim suddenly spoke up and took a step forward. "But that ain''t gonna fly." "Huh?" "When there''s so many strong people standing in front of me flexing their power, I just really *Scary smile* wanna crush em." ''...Something ain''t right with this kid.'' Shaking his head Yami pushed him back. "You said you wanted to see what a captain looks like when they go all out right? Well get ready because I''m about to surpass my limits right here and right now." "What?" "You don''t want to miss that do you?" "...." ''That''s what I thought.'' "Good, now stay back there and watch me win this." "Win this?" Licht suddenly spoke up. "I''m sorry to say but that won''t be possible. Each member of the third eye is far stronger than any one of your kingdom''s captains." "Is that so?" Yami asked walking forward. "Then show me." [Imitation Magic - Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash] [Spirit Magic: Salamander''s Breath] "CAPTAIN YAMI!!" Asta screamed. *BOOM!!* *SWOOSH!!* "Urgh..." Covering their faces from the dust and debris flying everywhere, Grim and the rest were surprised when they brought their arms down and saw Yami laying on the ground while three people stood in front of him. "Did you hear that Char, they said that they''re stronger than a captain." "Please don''t address me as such, your appearance is bad enough as it is there''s no need to make it worse for yourself by speaking." "Humph, to attack a clover captain within our own territory, how arrogant of you." "C-Captains!!" Asta exclaimed. "Tch, just as I was about awaken my hidden powers you guys had to come and interrupt didn''t you." Yami sighed. "You better repay me when we get back." "To think you could still speak such nonsense despite you laying in the dirt." Now that the dust had settled, Asta and the others were able to see who they were exactly. "Captain Charlotte, Captain Jack and Captain Nozel." Finral stuttered. "Braided bangs?" Grim said loudly in surprise causing Nozel to cringe. "Ahahahahahahahahahaha." Yami burst out laughing. "Braided bangs! Nice one kid." "Tch, I''ll deal with the two of you as soon as I''m done with these terrorists." Chapter 52 - The Talk ''Fuck! There''s so much people stronger than me in here that it makes me sick!'' Grim clenched his fists and grit his teeth. ''But why is it that I can''t stop smiling?'' Feeling his blood grow restless, the smile on Grim''s face deepened. "Okay, lets do this!" He grinned and summoned his Beast swords. "Stay out of this you trash." Nozel called out before turning his head to the side to look at him. "When captains are fighting, a weakling like you should stay back." Seeing the serious look in Nozel''s eyes, the atmosphere around Grim suddenly darkened. "....The fu?k did you just say?" He asked in scarily dark voice. Not waiting to receive an answer, the mana in his body suddenly exploded out and rose to a level that even caught the Third Eye off guard. *BOOM!!* "This mana!" The Third Eye all looked in his direction. "Grim..." Asta said sensing his anger. "Can it be?" Rhya muttered remembering the time that he and Catherine had visited that lake. "Hmm?" Charlotte and Jack looked at him in surprise. "Me a weakling? Take it back." He muttered. "TAKE IT BACK!!" *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* With the sudden release of his mana, those standing near Grim were forced to take a step back as his power started climbing to dangerous levels. ''Tch, this kid is really out of control.'' "TAKE IT BACK, TAKE IT BACK, TAKE IT BACK, TAKE IT BACK, TAKE IT BACK..." --- "Huh? Where am I?" Standing in a light-less void surrounded by empty darkness, Grim found himself standing on a solid surface that resembled water. ''What the hell?'' ''Weird...'' "Pretty cool isn''t it." "Huh!" Caught off guard by the sudden voice, Grim spranh to action ad spun around to look at the originator of that voice. "You! What the hell are you!" Standing in front of him was the distorted figure of a man that seemed like he was glitching in and out of reality. "Ah, it looks like you''re here too early." Contrary to the figure''s appearance, its voice was actually really clear. "To early? What the fu?k are you talking about! No fu?k that! Tell me where I am first!" "Y''know, I never realized it till now but, you swear a lot." Growing annoyed at his ramblings, Grim focused on his hands and prepared to summon out his beast swords. Ignoring him, Grim kept focusing and trying to materialize his weapons to no avail. "What the hell?" "Told ya." "What... Why..." Flashing to his side, the distorted figure placed its hands on Grim''s shoulder. "You ready to talk now?" "I... *deep breath* Yeah." --- "So what is this place? I''m pretty sure that I was just in a cave a second ago." "Then how come I''m here?" "The real question is why are any of us here? Just to suffer." "...." "What? No comeback?" *Sigh* "Who are you?" "What do you mean? I''m just your friendly neighborhood rando that''s willing to talk to you." "Don''t bullshit me! I know that line! As a matter of fact, I should be the only one who knows that line! So I''ll ask you again. Who. THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU!" "Pffthahahahahahahahahahhahaha. Oh God your serious aren''t you! Hahahahahahahahahaha." Laughing for the next couple of minutes, the distorted figure finally managed to calm down and wipe its eyes like it had tears. ''Finally.'' "Don''t finally me, I''m dumbing this shit down for you so it makes sense." "Right." Grim rolled his eyes. ''Wait a second! Didn''t I just say that in my mind!'' "Yep." The figure nodded gleefully. "Wait what the fu?k!" Grim backed up. "You can read my mind!" "Read it? Its practically an echo in this place." "What!?" "I know, weird right. So anyway, what were in right now is technically your mind." "Yep, though its way too early for you to be in here, something must have triggered one of your past memories and dragged you in here. Can''t believe I didn''t account for that. Oh well, live and learn right." "What are you talking about?" Grim asked thoroughly confused. "Oh right, I should probably introduce myself, hmm... you can call me king." "King? I''m not calling you that." "Ah, really? C''mon, its like super cool and better than my actual name." "Can you... Just tell me what''s going on." "Promise to call me king?" "What?" "If you promise to call me king then I''ll tell you." "...Your getting off on this aren''t you." "Like you wouldn''t believe." *Sigh* "Fine, I''ll call you king, now can you tell me where I am, what''s going on and who you are." "Oh that''s simple, I''m you." --- "Okay, so let me get this straight. You''re the originally me from the realm of Gods and right now we''re in my mindscape- "Our mindscape, well if you''re being technical I guess this is really just a fraction of my own." "Anyway." Grim cut him off. "We''re in MY mindscape because I managed to recall something I shouldn''t have and to stop my brain from burning out I was pulled in here?" "Pretty much." The distorted figure nodded. "Okay, I get that, but why are you here?" "Don''t you remember your final wish?" "My final wish? You mean me wishing for my core memories!?" "Well technically I made that wish but sure, take the credit for yourself." Ignoring him Grim continued. "So you''re here because of my wish to keep my core memories." "Yep." "But why would that happen? I just wanted to remember some vital stuff, not have a brain meltdown." "Yeah." The distorted figure nodded. "Its actually really weird that you came in here this early in the plot, I was thinking it''d take way more time." "Plot? Oh shit! You remember everything about this world don''t you! Give spoilers!" "What!? Fuck no!" "Why not!" "Because it''d ruin my plans!" "You''re plans?" "Yeah, you don''t think I''d want to keep my core memories just so I could remember I reincarnated right?" "Wait you didn''t? I mean we didn''t?" "Hell no! I finally managed to get a vacation and I''m going to take full advantage of it." "Full advantage... You''re not planning to steal my body are you?" "Technically its my body so I could do what ever I want with it, but no, I''m not planning to do that." "Then what are you planning?" "Spoilers." "What?!" "Spoilers bro, I ain''t gonna tell you." "What! Don''t be a d??k!" "Being a d??k is fun." If he could grin, Grim was sure he was doing it right now. "Besides, as long as you''re still alive for the next 100-200 chapters you''ll eventually find out." Feeling a sudden pull, Grim realized this he was returning to his body. "Wait! I can''t measure chapters in real time!" "Sucks for you then doesn''t it." "You piece of shi- *Pop* Watching Grim disappear from this place, the distorted figure couldn''t help but laugh. "Man, this is really gonna be fun." Chapter 53 - Control "Urgh." Opening his eyes up albeit with some difficulty, Grim felt a stinging pain emanating from his head as he found himself staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom inside the Black Bulls base. *Sigh* Did I pass out again?* Recalling the scene of himself in the cave repeating the words "Take it back" over and over again, Grim put together the pieces of how he got here. ''So that was me recalling something from a past life...'' "You''re awake!" A quiet voice suddenly exclaimed. "Hmm?" Turning his head to the side, Grim was surprised to see the makeup wearing Gordon sitting next to his bed making what he could only ?ssume to be a doll of himself. "Gordon?" Grabbing him by his hands, Gordon brought his head down to them and in a teary voice he said. "I''m so happy you''re okay. The healers said you were okay physically but for some reason you just didn''t wake up." ''I didn''t wake up? Could that have been during the time that I was inside my mindscape?'' Suddenly realizing that the base seemed too quiet, Grim realized that he couldn''t sense the mana signatures from any of the other black bulls. "Where are the others?" "The others?" Raising his head, Gordon blinked a few times until Grim''s words finally settled in. "Ah, a couple of days ago the wizard king ordered the magic knights to retrieve a magic stone from a place called the Seabed Temple." --- Listening to Gordon''s explanation of what had happened over the last few days, Grim learnt that the Eye of the Midnight Sun guys were actually looking for something called a magic stone and that this Seabed Temple place apparently had one. After learning all of this, Gordon eventually left in order to pick up some supplies to speed up Grim''s recovery. While he was fine physically, Gordon wanted to be extra careful and bring him some healing concoctions from his family home. Sighing to himself, Grim eventually started thinking back on the events of the cave battle. ''Tch, so in the end I couldn''t even watch a captain level battle besides Yami''s! And what was up with that Fana the hateful chick? If I''m looking at her from a physical standpoint, then she''s definitely not older than me by much! So why the hell is she so goddamn powerful!? Even stronger than that Licht guy who could go toe to toe with Yami!'' ''Dammit! All of them were stronger than me!'' Clenching his teeth tightly, Grim raged for the next five minutes before eventually calming down. ''And now I''m stuck here while everyone else gets to go have fun in some underwater palace. *Sigh* Why did they leave me with Gordon of all people.'' Thinking about everything that had transpired, two glaring issues stuck out to him. The first one was what King had said to him in their shared mindscape. If what he was saying was true and that him using his wishes to retain his core memories was all for some higher purpose, then would that mean that this Elven blood and Demon Slaying magic also played a part in his plans? The second glaring issue was the Light mage Licht. While Grim achievements so far have been impressive, in front of that Licht guy all he could do was hide behind Yami. ''I have to get stronger.'' Recalling Licht''s figure, something felt off to him. ''What was it that Yami said again? Guys with a lot of mana can do all sorts of things?'' Thinking about it now, it was actually quite weird that Licht was able to fly the way he did. While he may not be an expert on light magic mages, he was pretty sure that flying wasn''t an inherent part of their abilities. ''Could it be because of the way he was utilizing his own mana?'' Closing his eyes for a bit, Grim considered the many ways in which doing this would be possible before eventually getting up and going outside. --- Sitting cross legged in the courtyard, Grim took several deep breaths as he focused on controlling his mana. After arriving in this world 5 years ago he had taught himself how to use mana at the basic level. Then after leaving the forest and meeting sister Theresa he was taught the proper ways in which to properly control his own mana. But to say that controlling mana was on of his strong points would be a huge lie. While he wasn''t bad at it by any means, he couldn''t exactly say he was an expert. It was at least comforting to know that he was better at controlling it compared to someone like Noelle who had been practicing since she was a child. In this regard Grim was far behind everyone else. From the moment he was reincarnated in this world he had the time disadvantage. Coupled with his exceedingly weak body, he really struggled to get to where he is now. While Yami and the rest of the magic knights may see him as a genius with never before seen potential, only Grim knew just how hard he had worked to get here. The fact that he was able to reach where he was with only 5 years of training was a miracle in itself. If he was reincarnated as a child his current power would be far above what it is now. *Sigh* ''No point thinking about things I can''t change, if I''m going to get stronger I can''t get stuck on what could have been.'' With no one around to fight, Grim''s mental state was actually really calm and quite serene. It was unknown if this was a result of him focusing on his task or a side effect of entering the Transparent World. After learning ki, Grim''s thought process of using mana had changed considerably. If mana was all around them, ki could be said to be found in everything. Sitting in the same position for the next few hours, Grim ignored everything from the outside world. Even Gordon''s calls were ignored as he had lost himself in feeling the ki and mana in his own body. Chapter 54 - Friends Unlike the erratic way he had previously used ki in the cave, Grim finally had the time to sit down and properly feel the ki around him and gain a deeper understanding of this new ability. Coupled with the hypersensitivity brought along by the effects of the Transparent World and the natural way mana bent itself for him, Grim felt like nothing could escape his senses. Even that weak mana signature in the lower regions of the Black Bulls base couldn''t escape his detection... ''Wait! Why is there an unfamiliar mana signature in our base?! Are we being invaded!! Are there enemies nearby!!!'' Confused and slightly more excited than he should be, Grim dropped his whole mana control training and charged into the base. Through the halls, down the stairs and into an unfamiliar room, Grim found himself staring at a thin looking bedridden man with unruly long white hair that covered his eyes and reminded Grim of something called a he*tai protagonist. Seeing the bedridden man struggling to lift his head, the excitement that Grim previously felt quickly diminished. ''What the hell?! Is this guy really an enemy?'' Seeing his door burst open, the unfamiliar man raised his head and with a smiling face he said. "H-Hello Grim." Frowning at the sound of his name, Grim suddenly realized that his mana was diminishing and being transferred to this guy. Seeing him, the unfamiliar man couldn''t help but smile. "Hot headed and quick to use violence... You''re exactly as Asta described." ''Asta?'' --- "Henry Legolant." The man held his hand out. Shaking his hand, Grim introduced himself. After listening to what the man had to say, he learnt that he was actually an OG member of the Black Bulls that was stuck down here due to his ability to unintentionally siphon off other peoples mana. Luckily for him, he met the mana-less Asta and was able to learn more about the Black Bulls and the current things happening in the Clover Kingdom. After spending a bit of time here, Grim eventually let his guard down and the two got to know each other better. After being abandoned by his parents from a young age due to his unintentional mana siphoning curse, Henry felt a connection to the amnesiac Grim who couldn''t remember his parents and was forced to survive alone in that forest by himself. For Grim, Henry''s siphoning ability wasn''t too much of an issue. Due to his ridiculous mana reserves, the amount being siphoned away was pretty insignificant in his eyes. "So you think you could beat this Licht guy?" Henry asked after hearing Grim''s version of how things went down during Licht''s fight with Yami. "Not at my current level." He shook his head. "But if I keep improving at the same rate that I am now, it won''t take too long." Listening to him, Henry nodded. "What will you do after you beat him?" "Find someone stronger then beat them." Grim answered without hesitation. "Wow..." Henry said before falling silent. "What?" "Its just... Its nice to have a goal." He smiled sadly. "You don''t have one?" Shaking his head, Henry hung his head. "What about talking to the others?" Grim suddenly said. "What?! I can''t do that." He shook his head wildly. "If they come near me I''ll start siphoning off their mana." *Sigh* "Y''know, for someone who''s been watching us for ages, you sure don''t know shit about the black bulls." "What?!" "I said you don''t know shit about us. Look, I can''t speak for everyone but I''m pretty sure that nobody would mind if you siphoned off their mana. Hell, you''re siphoning off my mana right now and I''m not complaining." "But that''s because you have so much." "That''s irrelevant to what I''m saying." "It is?" "It is." Grim nodded. "You want to be friends with everyone right?" "I- I do!" Henry said with conviction. "Good." He smiled. "Then let that be your goal." "My goal... Yeah, that''s my goal! But what if I start siphoning their magic again?" "Then surpass your limits and stop siphoning." Grim said taking a page out of Yami''s book. "Surpass my limits..." "Yeah." Grim grinned. "Don''t let a shitty curse stop you. Surpass your limits and go make some friends!" "I- OK!" --- "I''ll come visit you again, don''t forget, surpass those limits." Grim waved leaving the room. "Thanks Grim! I promise to surpass my limits and make friends!!" Smiling, Grim eventually closed the door and made his way back up to the upper levels. ''Encouraging others really isn''t really my thing, but I guess doing it once in a while isn''t too bad.'' He smiled. ''Now then, should I return to practicing mana control or take advantage of the Black Bulls being gone?'' Knowing what he wanted to do while the others were away, Grim went to his room and pulled out a map of the Clover kingdom. After finding the location he was looking for, he nodded to himself before grabbing a tattered black cloak and his broomstick. ''I won''t be able to use my swords or any defining spells while I''m there, if things go wrong I''m screwed.'' Standing on his broom, Grim took the sky and started flying in the direction he had marked on his map. ''I need to do this quickly, if too many of them gang up on me then I''ll probably get discovered and will probably go to jail. *Sigh* It''d be so much easier if I could just fight without having to worry about them discovering my identity... Then again, it''d be pointless if they couldn''t force them to use their strongest spells. That reminds me, I should only use one type of magic until I escape.'' Thinking about it, Grim really hated that he didn''t know many other mages. ''Is this what its like to feel unpopular?'' Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he saw that he was approaching his destination. Slowing down, Grim came to a halt and took in the sight. ''So this is what this place looks like... I''ve got to say... the Blue Rose''s base is much nicer than ours.'' Chapter 55 - Blue Rose Base According to the information given to him by sister Theresa during his early days, the Blue Rose magic knight squad is a special squad due to it being composed solely of women and having the motto of refusing to worship and idolize any man. For a naive man, the Blue Rose base could be seen as a promise land, but from what Grim was told by Finral, the male members of the squad actually served as errand boys to the women and have sacrificed their masculinity for a love that they will never receive. In simple terms, its the home of the simps. Standing above the base with his broom, Grim closed his eyes and sensed the ki and mana of those insides. ''A couple on the upper layers and a few on the middle ground... While fighting more opponents would be fun, I can''t afford to waste time since I can''t use my grimoire or specific spells. [Breath of Flames] Breathing lightly, the orange glow of his magic element wrapped itself around his body. Since [Breath of Flames] was his most destructive breath style without the use of his swords, Grim decided that it''d be wise to use this one in order to complete his mission. ''I should also change up the way I talk so I can avoid suspicion if they ever manage to suspect me... Now the question is, what kind of personality should I go for? I could try to copy Finral but something about that makes me cringe. I could try acting like Asta but I''m not particularly a fan of yelling. Luck''s personality is too volatile and I''d probably lose myself in the act. Magna''s is too in your face and Gordon''s is too quiet and a bit too creepy for my taste. I guess I could act like Gauche, but do I really want to act like a sis con? I don''t know why I''m even considering it. I guess that only leaves Yami... For some reason I don''t think I''d be able to pull it off though.'' [A/n: Yami is one of a kind.] *Sigh* ''I guess I could take aspects of Finral''s and mix some of my personality in... Yeah, lets go with that for now.'' Nodding to himself, Grim put his mask on and floated down towards the Blue Rose base. "Hey Risacca, do you think sis is okay?" Standing in a beautifully furnished room, the boisterous Sol lay on her friend''s bed while the m?tur? looking Risacca stood in front of her mirror and checked her figure out. "I''m sure she''s fine. The captain isn''t so weak that she needs you to worry about her." "I know, but I can''t help but feel uneasy y''know." Sol sighed. "I know." Risacca nodded. "But as members of the Blue Rose, we have a duty to believe in our captain." "Aww, isn''t that nice." Freezing in place, the Sol jumped off the bed as the two women quickly span around in direction of the mysterious voice only to see a masked man in black sitting on the windowsill while looking at them and stroking his chin. "No need to stop for me, just carry on with your conversation and pretend that I''m not here." The man said hurrying them along. "..." "..." Surprised by the man''s appearance, Risacca and Sol fell silent for a second before their grimoires started glowing. "Whoa, whoa whoa!! No need for that ladies." The man said waving his hands in front himself. "Who are you!" Sol snarled while channeling her magic. "Me? I''m just your friendly neighborhood peeping Tom. Who are you?" "..." "..." "Risacca." "Yes Sol?" "Prepare to get someone with healing magic." "Right away." "Sorry beautiful, but I''m afraid that more than two women is a bit too much for me to handle at the moment." "Humph!" Activating a spell from her grimoire, a stream of water shot out of her hand an extinguished the flames. ''Hoh? A water mage, unexpected by very welcomed.'' Smiling, Grim got up and looked at the damp ground and started nodding before looking back up at Risacca. "Y''know, I''ve never had a girl squirt this much for me." Hearing him, Risacca face suddenly went dark. "Sol." She called in a dark voice that made Sol feel nervous. "Yes?" "Forget the healer, they''ll be useless by the time I''m done with him." "Oh wow!!" Grim exclaimed. "I didn''t think you''d be this into this threesome." "SHUT UP!!" Risacca screamed losing her composure and shooting a high pressured ball of water at him. *FWOOSH!!* ''Damn, took you long enough to attack.'' Positioning himself in front of the window, Grim spread his arms out wide an received the attack head on. *BANG!!* Thrown back by the force of the spell, Grim''s body shot through the open window and was sent sprawling towards the hard concrete. "Did you get him?" Sol asked. "Of course." Risacaa pushed her ?h?st out with pride. "Hey!!" Grim''s voice rang out from the outside. "While I like swimming and all that, I''d prefer to be doused in a different kind of liquid if you catch my drift!!" "He''s alive!" "Impossible!!" Risacaa denied and ran towards the window. "Yo." He waved when he saw both girls looking out the window. Seeing him standing there unharmed, Risacca unintentionally growled. "My turn!" Sol grinned and hopped out of the window. "SOL!!" Risacaa yelled. ''So its the earth mage now.'' *THUD* Landing with a dull thud, Sol walked towards Grim while stretching her arms. "Since sis isn''t here at the moment, punishing you will be my job." "I''m not a fan of BDSM so imma have to turn you down in that regard." "It wasn''t a request." "Wow, haven''t you ever heard of no means no?" [Earth Creation Magic: Divided Mother Earth] Summoning 4 giant earth golems, Sol had her puppets surround him. "Now you want to make it gangbang? You''ve got some pretty extreme kinks." Ignoring him, Sol thrust her hands forward and ordered the golems to attack. "Heh." Grim grinned when he saw the golems fist growing larger in his eyes. "I guess we''re gonna play rough." *BANG!!* As the fists crashed down on his figure, Grim managed to jump above them and plant his feet on one of the golems arms. Running up the golems arm, Grim charged from the wrist to the shoulder before launching himself in to the air. While up there, he covered his fists in flames and fell toward Sol''s figure. "SOL!!" Risacaa screamed from the balcony. [Earth Magic: Mud Wall Partition] Slamming her hands on the ground, a thick wall of mud ascended from the ground and bore the brunt of his attack. *Crack* "Huh!?" *BANG!!* Bursting through the blockade, Grim continued to drop towards her. "SOL RUN!!" *BANG!!* Barely managing to jump out of the way in time, Grim''s fist left a small crater in ground as sweat dripped from Sol''s face. "More... Show me more!!" Grim laughed forgetting that he was meant to conceal his identity. Covering his other hand with fire magic as well, Grim charged towards Sol. "Stay back you pervert!!" Activating a spell from her grimoire, Risacaa shot a pressurized jet stream of water at Grim ''Whoa!!'' Seeing the attack, Grim didn''t attempt to avoid it and let himself get pushed back. "Risacaa!" Sol turned to look at her. Using a spell that created a staircase of water under her, Risacaa quickly made her way down and joined Sol. "Sorry for interrupting, but I couldn''t let that pervert anywhere near you. Who knows what he would have done if given the opportunity." "Kehehehehehe." A weird laughter erupted from the distance. "Finally deciding to join in eh? Getting jealous?" "You scoundrel! How dare you utter such absurd statements!!" "Yeah!" Sol agreed. "Now that the two of us are together, there''s no way you''ll beat us!" "Is that so?" Feeling the movement of Ki and mana from inside the building, Grim realized that they were being too loud and had most likely been heard by the others. ''Fuck, they haven''t hit me enough yet... That sounded more m?s??h?stic than I would have liked.'' Realizing that his time was quickly running out, Grim needed them to hit him with stronger spells. ''I should target their pride and anger them.'' "You think that the two of you stand a chance? Y''know, since you''re girls and all that, I''ll take it easy on you and fight with one hand behind my back." "What!" Seeing him look down on them and put his left hand behind his back, the two girls felt like he was underestimating them. "Y-You!!" "What? Don''t tell me that you want me to put my other hand behind my back too? I mean it wouldn''t really make a difference but I guess its good to make you guys feel like you could do something." Feeling their rage start to bubble up, Grim watched in joy as their grimoires started glowing brighter. "Ooh, a big spell is coming! They just need a little push.'' "Is Charlotte in? I have a bet going on with another pervert that I''ll be able to fu?k her into submission, so any news regarding her whereabouts would be much appreciated." "..." "..." "DIE!!" Unleashing the strongest spells in their grimoires, Grim underestimated the power in their attack and sneakily switched to breath of the Beast. *Sigh* ''I really need to find a better way to get new breath styles.'' --- *Huff* *Huff* Breathing heavy, both Risacca and Sol found themselves sitting down as they had just used up a ton of mana in that final spell. "We did." "Yeah." Sol nodded looking pleased with herself. "Hey!!" Members of the Blue Rose came running out after hearing the commotion. "What''s going on?" They asked after seeing Sol and Risacca covered in sweat and sitting on the courtyard grounds. Barely managing to catch their breaths, the two of them explained the situation and pointed to the area the spell had hit Grim. "A masked man in black?" One of them asked after going over to the destroyed area. "Yeah, he was wearing a black mask as well." Crouching down, the woman picked up a piece of black cloth and returned to the others. "This was all I found." "Impossible." Risacca rejected. "Even the captain wouldn''t be able to walk off that attack let alone some random pervert." --- ''FUCK!!'' Sitting down in a location not to far from the Blue Rose base, a bloodied Grim sat with his back against a rocky wall as he focused on breathing and controlling his pain. Right now every inch of his body was screaming out in pain and begging for him to rest. Gritting his teeth, he discarded his black robes and changed into the clothes he had stashed away before attacking the base. If not for [Breath of the Beast] and his enhanced evasion ability granted to him by the Transparent World, Grim doubted that he would have been able to completely avoid the attack while also taking enough damage to achieve his goal. ''Ha! I know I asked for it and everything but, if I ever get the chance, I''m gonna go back and kick their ?sses.'' Grinning to himself, he looked at his shining grimoire. [Breath of Stone] [Breath of Water] Chapter 56 - Trance Breathing heavily, Grim flicked through his grimoire. ''Lets see what starting spells I''ve got.'' [Breath of Water - Third Form: Flowing Dance] ''Starting with another third form huh, reminds me of [Breath of Thunder]'' Holding back his urge to groan, he pushed himself up onto his feet. *Crack* "Ssssss..." Popping his shoulder back into its socket, Grim seethed in pain and walked over to his broom. ''Based on my estimation, if I rest properly, I should heal up nicely within the next couple of days...But that''d mean I wouldn''t have time to practice this new style... But it would mean that I could focus on practicing my mana control.'' Sighing to himself, he took to the air and flew back in the direction of the black bulls base. While it would have easier to fight them as himself, Grim didn''t like the fact that the secret behind the ways he gains new styles would be exposed. Fighting as the masked pervert was way easier as it allowed him to have fun with them while also getting what he wanted. Besides, it would take too long to officiate and official match anyway. ''I wonder how things are going with the others?'' --- -Seabed Temple- ''Seriously... We''re definitely screwed.'' Feeling the intense mana radiating off the three eyed figure. Finral felt like he and the rest of the black bulls were ants facing off against a giant. Sweating at the sight of Vetto, Finral regretted the fact that he couldn''t die in the arms of a beautiful women. "You think you three can stop me! Ahahahahahaha!! I''ll crush you like the insects that you are!!" "Oh? Didn''t think you''d make it." Vanessa laughed. "You really don''t have faith in me do you?" Instead of answering, Vanessa smiled and turned to look at Noelle and the unconscious members of the black bulls. "You have enough mana to protect the others right?" *Nods* "I''ll leave them to you then." ''Not to mention this guys mana, even his attacks are overpowered, if any of get hit by them it''ll be lights out.'' "Fighting a guy like this really makes me want to cry." Finral sighed. "If we win this, I''ll hug you and let you cry on my shoulder." "SERIOUSLY!!" Finral said fired up. Switching from playful to serious, Vanessa took a proper look at the three eyed Vetto. "Normal magic attacks aren''t gonna work on this guy, we''re gonna have to rely on your anti magic Asta, think you can handle it?" *Flashback to him and Grim on the roof* *Flashback to him and Yuno as kids* "Yeah." He nodded. "I told both of them to watch as I become wizard king... I''m not about to let this guy make a liar out of me." "Asta..." Seeing the look of determination in his eyes, Vanessa smiled gently. "Focus on hitting him, we''ll make sure that you won''t die, right Finral." "Yeah." Finral nodded looking uncharacteristically serious. --- Sitting cross legged on his bed, Grim took in a deep breath and focused on controlling the massive quantity of mana in his body. After debating with himself during the journey back to the base, he finally settled on practicing mana control. While increasing his combat ability [Breath of Water] would have been good, the thought of him being unable to fight someone like Licht because he couldn''t hit him deterred him. *Sigh* ''This isn''t working... Maybe if I focus on an element that allows for such an ability then I might gain some inspiration.'' [Breath of Wind] Letting the green glow surround him, Grim focused on the attributes that this element granted him. ''Weightless, formless, ever changing.'' Focusing on the element of wind, Grim''s attention slowly started slipping as he found himself entering a trance. ''Flexible, invisible and everywhere... Kind of like mana...'' Lost in this trance, Grim didn''t notice how the mana around him was starting to surround and embrace him. Brushing across his body, the objects in his room started to shake and levitate. ''Mana is everywhere...'' Mana is love...'' ''Mana is life...'' Breathing lightly to the point that it seemed like had stopped, Grim''s body started su?k?n? in the surrounding mana and releasing it. It is said that those born with an abundance of mana are chosen and loved by mana. A person with a lot of mana can do do a lot of things. Entering his body, the surrounding mana started nourishing him and fixing the previous injuries he had sustained. Breathing calmly, a serene look appeared on Grim''s face. Coming into contact with the mana, the blood in Grim''s body started rustling as a faint glow surrounded it before disappearing. [Demon Slaying Magic: Total Concentration Constant] Floating in front of him, new words appeared on the first page of the grimoire. *Releasing a breath* Slowly opening his eyes, Grim felt like he was renewed. The previous pain he felt from getting hit by Sol and Risacca''s attacks could b?r?ly be felt. Even his breathing was weirdly stable. "Hmm?" Noticing his floating grimoire, Grim raised an eyebrow and looked at the new shining page. [Demon Slaying Magic: Total Concentration Constant] Reading the words on the page, a flurry of new information flooded into his brain as various panels from the Demon Slayer appeared in his head. Breathing heavily from the tax that the new information put on his brain, Grim looked at his grimoire in surprise. ''Did I achieve it already?'' Total Concentration Constant was a passive ability in which the user of Demon Slaying magic could keep a single breath style active at all times without it interfering with the others. This effectively meant that he could use one of the passive abilities granted to him by a specific style as a base. While he wouldn''t be able to use the swords while having another breath style active, the enhancement that the base style grants him wouldn''t disappear. Now he just had to think about which breath style to use as his base. Chapter 57 - Graceful "Whoa!! What the fu?k happened to your arms!! And you! Who are you?" Seeing the Black Bulls return back from the Seabed Temple, Grim was shocked to see a shy looking blue haired girl arriving with them and Asta''s arms in bandages. "GRIM!!" Everyone exclaimed when they walked in. "You''re awake!" --- "So that''s what happened." Sitting at the table with the others, they explained everything that happened during the mission. They described how they fought that Vetto, how Noelle finally managed to use an attack spell, how Asta, Vanessa and Finral triple teamed him and how Yami surpassed his limits and one shot the dude. Listening them, Grim was astonished by the tale and was envious that he wasn''t able to crush some strong people. But what interested him the most from their story was the fact that Luck and Magna teamed up and used union magic. ''Union magic huh...'' Looking at the two of them, Grim tried to imagine the power of the spell but was distracted by the new girl. Apparently she was that creepy looking member of the Black Bulls that could use transformation magic. The next thing on his mind was Yami''s spell [Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash]. Thinking about how Yami struggled to fight that Vetto guy back when they were in that cave, he was honestly shocked that Yami was capable of one shoting him. If they told him that it had taken a couple of hits to beat him then that wouldn''t be to hard to believe. After all, Grim had surpassed his limits several times and still wasn''t able to one shot his enemies. *Sigh* ''I''ve still got a ways to go.'' [Total Concentration Constant: Beast] While having [Breath of Wind] as his base would have increased his agility and attack speed, [Breath of the Beast] was the style he was most familiar with and he felt that enhancing his physique and natural senses were more beneficial in the long run. Not to mention that since his physique would be enhanced at all times, his sword swings would be many times stronger as a result. Now that he had completed his objective with the Blue Rose squad, he wanted to focus his attention on raising his mana control abilities. Looking at Asta who had broken his arms but was still able to look forward, Grim had a feeling that this experience had actually strengthened him and that the gap between would be closing soon. In fact, if it wasn''t for them being tired and Asta being unable to use his swords he would have challenged him, Luck and Magna to a battle. Walking into the room, Yami looked over everyone until his sight landed on Charmy. "Oi Charmy, I''m going to report to the Wizard King, hurry up and bring the captives." Apparently Charmy had a pretty powerful binding spell that shrunk her enemies and trapped them in cotton balls the size of a fist. "Will there be any tasty food?" "No." He shot her down before looking at Finral. "Bring us there with your magic." "Will there be any pretty girls?" "No." "Can I come too!!" Asta asked jumping to his feet. "Hmm? Well I guess you were a part of the mission so sure." "Hell yeah!!" He cheered. "We might as well go and visit that doctor while we''re there and get those arms of yours fixed." "Seriously!!" Ignoring him, Yami turned to look at Grim. "You gonna be okay by yourself?" ''By myself?'' ''I guess that underwater place really took it out of them...'' "I''ll be fine." He nodded and watched sa they disappeared through Finral''s portal. "Hyhh!" Standing up and stretching, Grim looked at his unconscious squadmates before shaking his head and heading to the courtyard. --- Covered in sweat and with hurried breathing, Grim stood topless in the courtyard holding onto an unfamiliar blue blade with a red hexagonal handguard. ''C''mon Grim, its not that difficult.'' After choosing [Breath of the Beast] as his base, Grim had noticed that any physical action he did had been enhanced. Even his walking speed had been increased. Realizing that this could be a problem in the short run, he quickly started training in order to adapt to his body''s new changes. *Deep Breath* [Breath of Water - Third Form: Flowing Dance] Originally supposed to be a movement type spell that would have the user move in a similar fashion to a serene water flow, with the [Breath of the Beast] boost added on, Grim''s movements were more forceful and resembled a pressurized water flow rather than a calm one. Performing the movements again, an ethereal stream of water followed behind him while a blue aura clung to his body. ''Wow.'' Watching from the window, Noelle and the others found themselves entranced by his dance. "Its like flowing water..." Vanessa muttered unable to turn away. ''I need to stop being so aggressive and straightforward with my movements and become more fluid and versatile...'' Controlling his breathing, Grim''s dance slowed down but the stream behind him suddenly became more defined in appearance. "Is it just me... or is he getting better?" Magna asked. "You think so to?" Noelle ???ked her head. ''Each movements needs to naturally flow into the next.'' Taking another step forward, Grim''s blade started radiating a blue light as water started manifesting around it and started resonating with Grim''s movements. "Its... beautiful..." ''Like all living beings, water can change phases, sometimes it can be calm as a lake and sometimes it can be as vicious as a raging ocean. With the physical boost given to me by [Breath of the Beast] I need to find the right balance between these two if I wish to use this spell effectively.'' As if affected by his thoughts, Grim''s movements changed repeatedly but somehow still contained an element of grace and beauty. Awed by such movements, the rest of the Black Bull members watched in silence as Grim slowly brought his dance to an end. "Amazing..." Luck whispered as his eyes were fixated on Grim''s slowing figure. Chapter 58 - Party "You brat!" Magna laughed wrapping his arm around Grim''s shoulder. "Learning a new magic while we were getting our bu??s kicked by that Vetto guy eh?" After finishing his dance and having his senses return to normal, Grim felt the ki of his squadmates being much closer than they were when he left. Turning his head, he saw all of them watching him from the window. Not to long after that Yami came back with a huge sack filled with food and alcohol. Due to them saving the Seabed Temple and retrieving the magic stone there, Yami decided to throw a party. He also revealed that they no longer had any black stars (negative stars) and now were actually able to compete with the other squads. Sitting by himself and watching everyone dance and enjoy themselves, Grim couldn''t help but smile. "Not bad for a squad that you didn''t want to join huh." "Yami?" Turning his head to look at the large muscled foreigner, Grim fell silent before nodding. "Wanna play?" He asked showing Grim a deck of cards. "...Sure." --- "So what happened at Kiten?" Grim asked while looking at his cards. "You heard about that?" "You know that Yuno kid right?" ''Yuno?'' "Yeah." He nodded. Smiling at his cards, Yami continued. "Well it seems like that guys gotten pretty powerful." "How powerful?" Grim frowned. "Strong enough to beat a Shining General." "Beat a Shining General..." ''Shining Generals are the Diamond Kingdom''s version of magic knight captains... I guess I underestimated the growth of someone with a four leaf grimoire.'' "Anyway forget about that." Yami said placing a card down. "Why don''t you tell me what you''re doing with your mana." "You noticed?" "With as much mana as yours, it''d be hard not to." ''And here I thought I was being sneaky.'' *Sigh* "Do you remember you saying that guys with mana could do all sorts of things?" "Did I say that?" "Yes! It was on the day I passed out remember?" Rubbing his chin, Yami thought back. ''Seriously? It was like a week ago.'' "Doesn''t really sound like something I would say... But what does that have to do with what you''re doing?" "Lets just say I''m putting your little theory to the test." "You tryna learn healing?" "What? No! What''s with you and healing?" ''Wait a second! How does he remember that specific part but not the conversation itself?'' Pausing for a minute, Yami looked at him like he was looking at an idiot. "I thought a battle maniac like you would love the ability to heal yourself so you could keep fighting." "Battle maniac? I''m n- "You are." Yami cut him off. "I don''t know if you''ve realized it yet, but you really seem to enjoy fighting." "What! No, I just like stepping on people weaker than me." "I''m not saying you don''t." "Then- "But that doesn''t mean you can''t enjoy the process either, they''re not mutually exclusive, you can enjoy one thing and enjoy another just as much." "..." "Don''t sweat it kid." He comforted while taking a swig out of his bottle. "So what if you enjoy fighting? Luck''s the same, at least you have a goal at the end of it. Luck just wants to fight forever." "My goal?" "Don''t tell me you''ve forgotten? You said you wanted to be the strongest right? To look down on everyone else and do whatever the fu?k you like with no one being able to stop you." Falling silent, Grim thought back to his time in this world. So much had happened in these past 5 years. From living in a forest to working in a restaurant and then becoming a protector of the kingdom. From all the people he''s met to all the foes he''s fought. It really was a wild ride. If someone ever made a book on his life, he was sure it''d sell well. "Why are you so nice to me?" He looked at his captain. While Yami was nice in his own way, the way he treated Grim was different to everyone else. He could even say that there were subtle differences in the way he treated him and Asta. Illuminated by the nearby fire light, Yami''s expression was hard to read. Sitting in silence for a minute, he closed his eyes slightly before answering. "...I guess you just remind me of home." ''Home... I wonder if you miss your home.'' As if reading his thoughts, the bird looked at him with a neutral expression before turning away. ''...Now I''m curious if there''s a Talk to Animals type magic out there.'' "Hey guys." Asta suddenly said drawing everyone''s attention. "Asta?" "I''m a bit tired, I''m gonna head to bed." ''Already?'' "See you guys tomorrow." He waved. Watching him leave, Noelle suddenly said something worrying. "Don''t you think Asta''s been acting a bit strangely?" "Hmm?" Magna hummed. "Now that you mention it, it is kinda weird that he''s going to bed, that guy never gets tired." "Yeah." "True." "It is weird." Nodding and confirming each others thoughts. Finral looked at everyone before deciding to speak up. "I... I think I know why." Grabbing everyone''s attention, the Black Bulls all turned to look at him. "I overheard him and the doctor today when they were fixing his arms... The doctor... He said Asta''s arms could never be returned to normal." "What!" "You''re kidding right." "Apparently, that Vetto guy hit him with an ancient curse and now his arms are..." Hearing him, everyone''s previous joyful faces fell. "So what." Grim suddenly said surprising everyone. "What?!" "We know that he''s being afflicted by a curse right? Then all we need to do if figure out how to reverse it." "Its not that eas- "Its better than sitting on our ?sses and moping about, do you think Asta would really want that?" "..." "..." "..." "We''re the Black Bulls right? The worse squad in history, nobody would have thought that we''d able to get that magic stone or recover from our negative star counter. They probably said some shit like it''d be impossible for us. But we did it didn''t we?" Hearing him, people started nodding. "So what if its a curse or an illness, if we actually try, I''m sure we''ll be able to find a way to fix it." "He''s right." Magna suddenly said. "We''re the Black Bulls yall! If we actually try then who could stop us?" "Yeah! We can beat this!" "Asta wouldn''t want us to mope!" "Lets do this!" "Yeah!" "Let''s kick that curse''s ?ss!!" Chapter 59 - Breakfast Waking up to the light of the sun shining on his face, Grim yawned loudly before forcing his way out of bed. "Aaagh..." He yawned before putting some shorts on and walking down stairs b?r?-chested. "Morning." He nodded after seeing Yami sitting on the sofa reading a news paper. After yesterday''s party, Noelle and the others had started looking for various ways in which they could lift Asta''s curse. Grim on the other hand focused solely on practicing his mana control as he could himself getting better with each passing day. While he wanted to help with Asta''s situation, he felt like he was so close to achieving his goal and that any distractions could ruin it. Sighing to himself, he made a quick breakfast before eventually making his way to the dining room and sitting down. Compared to yesterday, he felt like his body had adapted quite nicely to the physical enhancements of [Breath of the Beast]. He could probably even do his normal amount of push ups without breaking a sweat. Chuckling to himself, he enjoyed his breakfast while thinking back on his time with the Black Bulls. Reminiscing on the past, he remembered the time that a bunch of Diamond Kingdom ?ssassin''s accidentally attacked the Black Bulls base in search of some guy called Fanzell Kruger. Since this event took place shortly after Grim had learnt [Unknowing Fire] from the whole dungeon excavation mission, he was busy training himself far away from the base at that specific point in time. According to Noelle, this Fanzell Kruger was the guy who taught Asta how to use his sword and happened defect from the Diamond Kingdom with his fiancee. Thinking about it now, it was actually quite a shame that he was training far away from the base as he could have used those ?ssassins to practice his new spell on. That being said, he didn''t regret it. If not for him training by himself, it probably would have taken longer for him to get a proper feel of the spell. Sighing to himself, he thought back on the information Finral gave him yesterday after the party. Apparently after he passed out in the cave, that Licht guy and the Third Eye members fought the captains while also trying to take Asta''s grimoire away from him. But what really concerned Grim was the fact that they said that Asta''s grimoire didn''t belong to him and that they called his sword Demon Slayer. Consider what his magic was, he felt that it was pretty weird that the sword had the same name. Just as he was about to continue eating, he felt Finral''s mana signature pop up from outside. "Hmm?" "Did you get everyone to their destinations?" Noelle asked once she saw Finral exit one of his portals. "Of course!" He said smugly. "Got Luck and Magna to that weird sand dungeon outside the kingdom, sent Charmy and Gray to some strange forest and transported Gauche and Gordon to the library so they could read up on ancient curses." "Good, everyone''s where they need to be." "But what about Grim and Vanessa? Neither of them have come to me for transport. And why are we being so secretive about this? Wouldn''t it be better to tell Asta?" "No." She shook her head. "If Asta knew what we were doing he''d just worry about us and tell us that he was fine. As for Grim and Vanessa... I know that Grim said that he was staying here because he had something to do, but I think that''s just an excuse to not leave Asta here by himself." "You think Grim would do that?" Finral asked with doubt. "Yeah, he might not show it, but he really cares about his friends." Remembering back to that time that Grim ruthlessly defeated Mars after she was injured, Noelle felt his heart flutter. "You okay?" "What?!" Snapping out of it, Noelle looked at him with confusion. "Your face is red, are you feeling sick or something? Do you want me to take you to a doctor?" "I-I''m fine! Its just a bit hot out here!" "You sure? Because it looks like- "Focus!" "Eh?" "Ahem." Clearing her throat, she continued. "As for Vanessa, no one''s seen her all day." --- ''Oh? Now I can feel Asta''s ki nearby.'' Continuing to eat his breakfast while simultaneously practicing mana control, Grim was surprised to see Asta come and sit in front of him. "...." "...." "...." "...." Seeing that neither one of them was gonna say anything, Grim took it upon himself to start the conversation. "Do you want some breakfast?" "No thanks... I just wanted to say that I''m happy to have you as my friend." "...Right..." ''Weird.'' "..." "..." ''Fuck! Now he''s just staring at me.'' "Hey Grim." ''Thank God he said something! That silence was way to awkward.'' "Hmm?" He raised his head. "You''ve changed." "What?" "Ever since the cave fight... you''ve been different." "I have?" ''That''s news to me.'' "Yeah." He nodded. "You seem more like Yuno." ''Yuno?'' "You mean I''m calmer." "Yeah! That''s it." "Hmm?" ''I can''t deny that. After entering the transparent world and almost frying my brain, I do seem to be a bit different.'' "Is that bad?" He asked. "Nope, just thought I should tell you." "Thanks?" "Hehe, no problem." He grinned before continuing. "Wanna work out?" "Work out? You do know both your arms are broken right?" He raised an eyebrow. "Of course! That''s why we''ll make it a legs only workout! If I push myself hard enough I''m sure I''ll not only be able to fight better than before, but I''ll also grow a bit as well!" "You mean leg day?" "Leg day? That''s such a cool name! Did you come up with it?" "...Sure." "Cool! Lets go!" Getting up, Asta raced through the door and signaled for Grim to follow. *Sigh* ''At least I can still practice while exercising.'' Smiling to himself, Grim got up and followed Asta to the courtyard. Chapter 60 - Witches Forest "And then he said Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash and split that Vetto guy in two!" "I get that part Asta, but what did the attack actually look like?" Grim asked while doing a sit up. "I couldn''t see it!" Asta proclaimed while performing a squat. "You just said it split that dude in 2 right? How could you not see an attack that does that?" "It was invisible!" "Invisible? Like you couldn''t see it all?" "Yep!" ''An attack that you can''t see that also cuts through dimensions... How am I supposed to deal with that?'' Since his dream was to be the strongest mage in this world, it was imperative to Grim that he understands the capabilities of those he needed to surpass. "Could you at least sense his ki during the attack?" Chuckling to himself, Asta started doing squats at breakneck speed. "I was to caught up in what had happened to notice." ''Of course.'' Returning back to training, the two boys talked about all sorts of nonsense to pass the time. Somewhere along the lines, the conversation turned to the existence of Henry. Hearing that Grim actually met him was a surprise to Asta but that quickly turned into excitement. Talking to Grim like this made Asta forget about the whole situation with his arms and had him smiling like the goofball that he was. For the boy born with no magic to be friends with the one born with an abundance of it, the two got on extremely well. While Asta saw Grim as another rival alongside Yuno and Leopold, he appreciated his time that he and Grim spent together just chilling. "So that glow around your body protects you from attacks that are the same element?" Asta asked after asking him about the glow around Grim''s body. "Rather than protect me, it give me a certain amount of resistance." "Cool!! I wish I had awesome magic like that!" "Are you kidding me? Anti Magic is way cooler! Just think about it, you can literally destroy all types of magic you come across." "Yeah, but you can use fire, wind, water and other types of magic! Just remembering it makes me so jealous!!" "You can absorb, reflect, annihilate magic! Most mages are can''t do shit to you!" "Magic!" "Anti-Magic!" While the two were stuck in a deep seated debate over what was cooler (Anti-magic vs Demon Slaying magic) they didn''t notice the 5 people standing a bit away from them. "So that''s Grim?" Fanzell asked Noelle. "Yep." She nodded. "Not bad." He nodded as he looked Grim up and down. "He really has the presence of a swordsman." "You grumbling teacher." Mariella pointed out. "Ahaha, am I?" He scratched the back of his head and laughed lightly. *Sigh* "Your habit of wanting to teach others is showing again honey." Domina sighed. "Hehe, I''m afraid I might not be able to handle this one." "Its not like you to give up so quickly teacher." Mariella frowned and looked at him. "I know, but I can tell that a guy like him couldn''t accept being taught by a guy like me." "What do you mean?" Noelle asked. Looking at the smiles on Grim''s and Asta''s faces despite the two arguing with each other, Fanzell couldn''t help but smile to. ''He''s made a good friend.'' "Hey Asta!" He suddenly called and walked over. "Hey wait! You didn''t answer my question!" Noelle yelled and ran after him. --- "Zell!!" Asta exclaimed when he saw him. ''Zell?'' Looking at the red haired man walking over, Grim searched his memories for the name. "Yo Asta." Fanzell smiled and waved. "What are you doing here?" Asta stopped squatting and asked. "No time to explain." Activating his wind magic, Fanzell created a bird made of earth under his feet and used his magic to push Asta on top of it. "EHHH!!" Watching Asta get kidnapped, Grim turned to look at Noelle and Finral and ???ked his head. "We''re gonna go fix Asta''s arms." Noelle whispered. "Oh? But why are you kidnapping? him" "Because he''d try to stop us if he knew where we were going." "Is it dangerous?" Grim asked with a weird glint in his eyes. "Apparently." Without saying another word, Grim jumped onto the wind bird with Asta and Fanzell. "What are you waiting for?!" He asked with an excited tone. "Lets get going!!" "Wait! You''re coming?" Noelle said not expecting this to happen. "Of course! If you guys go then I''ll have nothing better to do." "Oh?" Looking at Fanzell, she saw him shrug. "Lets get going then." --- "You''re the guy who taught Asta how to use a sword right?" Now that they had taken to the skies, Grim wanted to pry as much information out of his new companions as he could. "I just taught him the basics, I''m pretty sure he''s already stronger than me." Fanzell laughed. "What are you talking teacher? There''s no way that he would be stronger than you in this short amount of time." Mariella argued. "I don''t know about that." Fanzell smiled as he looked at Asta. "You''ve been through alot since we''ve last me, haven''t you Asta?" "Yeah." Asta nodded seriously. Smiling at his response. Fanzell looked into the distance. "Where are we going anyway?" Grim abruptly asked after realizing that he didn''t actually know their destination. "We''re going to the Witches Forest." Domina answered. "The Witches Forest? Isn''t that over there?" Grim pointed to a specific spot in the distance. "You know it?!" Domina asked with a bit of surprise. "Yeah." He nodded. "I lived in this forest for a bit of time so I''m a bit familiar with the area." "Wait! This is the place where you woke up?!" Noelle bu??ed in. "Yeah, well technically its over there." He pointed. "Wait? What''s going on?" Domina asked confused about what they were talking about. After a quick explanation about his amnesia and his previous living situation, Domina and Fanzell were in shock. "Aren''t there magic beasts living in these forests?!" Fanzell gasped. "Yeah, almost ate me a couple of times." Grim laughed recalling a specific memory. "You said that you knew the location of the Witches Forest. How is it possible that you got past the Witch Queen''s senses?" "The Witch Queen''s senses?" Grim looked confused. "You mean you don''t know!" Domina covered her mouth in shock before explaining. "The Witch Queen''s magic covers the entire forest, if you truly lived here for two years then there''s no way she wouldn''t know about it." "You keep mentioning this Witch Queen person, but I have no idea who you''re talking about." --- "So what your saying is, she''s a powerful mage that detests men and created a kingdom filled with nothing but women that she can rule over?" Grim said after hearing Domina''s explanation. "Yes." "Doesn''t sound too scary, just your average over the top man hating lesbian if you ask me." "...." "...." "...." "What''s with those looks? Your looking at me as if I said anything wrong." *Sigh* "You might actually be right." Domina sighed remembering that both she and Vanessa left because of a guy. "It wouldn''t be the first time. Anyway, you said that she''s strong right?" "Yeah." "Then what are we still doing here? Lets go dethrone a bitch!" He cheered with excitement. "Excuse me?" Domina frowned. "Didn''t you hear a thing I just said." "Don''t care." Grim answered plainly. "All I need to know is that she''s strong and that by crushing her it''ll prove I''m stronger." "Grim *deep breath* I don''t think you''re hearing my words. The Witch Queen will kill you." "Nah, even if I''m not able to beat her with my magic, as long as I strip n?k?d and wave my thing in her face, she''ll be force her to retreat and retreating means giving up and giving up means losing and losing means I win." "...." "Ignore him." Noelle said flying over to Domina''s side. "Anyway, how far are we?" "We''re here." Chapter 61 - Witch Queen "Wow..." Looking at the magnificent sight before them, Noelle and the others were at a loss for words as the sheer sight of the forest blew them away. "Welcome to the witches forest." Domina introduced them. "Its amazing..." Finral muttered thinking about the vast amount of girls inside. "Y''know... now that I have fire magic, I have this weird d?s?r? to set this place ablaze." Grim said while looking at the trees. "GRIM!!" Noelle turned to him obviously displeased with what he said. "What? I''ve never started a forest fire before." "That doesn''t mean you should!" *Sigh* "Listen Noelle." Grim said placing his hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. "If you had fire magic like me, you''d understand where I''m coming from. But since you don''t, I don''t think you have a right to tell me what I can and can''t burn." "What about Domina! That''s her home!!" "A home is a place that you''re allowed to come back to. According to her own words, witches that have left the witches forest aren''t allowed back. Therefore her opinion has as much relevance to me as yours." "Grrr.." Clenching her teeth together tightly, Noelle was about to blow a fuse. "Guys!" Domina called. "We have to focus. Don''t forget why we''re here." She motioned to Asta. "Right, I''ll burn this place down after we''ve done that." Grim nodded. "...Anyway." Domina continued. "From this point onward we have to be really careful. Since the witch queen can sense magic in her territory we''ll be using these invisibility cloaks to sneak in." "Invisibility cloak?" Finral raised an eyebrow before inching closer to Domina. "When you say invisible... How undetectable are we?" "Heh! I''m glad you asked, these cloaks of mine have the ability to not only conceal your body, they''re also strong enough to mask your magic and presence from someone as powerful as the witch queen." "Yeah yeah, but hypothetically speaking, if someone were to use this to sneak in a place that lets say they would normally be prohibited from entering, would they still get noticed?" "Of course not!" Domina stuck her ?h?st out proudly. "My cloak is the perfect presence inhibitor tool!" "Cool cool. So it evens works in an extremely steamy environment?" "I haven''t tried it yet, but it should be capable of doing that." "Right right..." Finral started mumbling to himself before speaking again. "So how much would it cost to procure one these cloaks? I''m asking for a friend." Before she could answer, Grim barged into their conversation. "Is it for Gauche? Because I know he''s been trying to find ways to spy on his sister lately." "What?! Why the hell would I get it for that sister loving freak when I could you use it to spy on Van-" Realizing that he had said to much, Finral coughed loudly before trying to cover it up. "Van- Vanilla waterfalls!" "Vanilla waterfalls?" Everyone turned to look at him. "Yeah." He nodded and started to sweat profusely. "Legend says that who ever finds it can get a new type of magic." "REALLY!!" Asta asked jumping up from his position. "Y-Yeah..." "Whoa! Maybe if I find it I''ll finally be able to use magic!" Seeing that things were starting to get out of hand, Domina called everyone''s attention before explaining the plan. "Unfortunately I only have two cloaks on me at the moment so we''ll need to share." "Is it big enough?" "We''ll manage. Now then, lets go!!" --- Flying through the insides of the witches forest, Finral and the rest marveled at the sights of so many witches. Grim on the other hand had one question in his head: Why do they like wearing pointed hats so much? "Hey, what''s that?" Noelle asked pointing to a cute looking floating earth model. "Hmm?" Domina said before looking in the direction she was pointing at. "That''s one of the forest''s security golem. They''re small but annoying to deal with in groups. So whatever you do, don''t draw attention to yourse- *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* Having just heard Domina''s explanation, Grim''s group flew past another tree and accidentally caught the cloak on a branch causing both the cloak and Fanzell''s clothes to (somehow) get pulled off alerting the golem which in turn called its little buddies. ''Oh for fu?ks sake!'' "AHHH!!!" EVADE!! EVADE!!" "GOD DAMMIT FANZELL!!" Everyone screamed as an army of security golems swarmed them while firing deadly lasers. "INTRUDERS!! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!!" One of the witches screamed after seeing getting chased. "MEN!! MEN HAVE INFILTRATED THE WITCHES FOREST!!" Dammit! We''re gonna have to force our way in!" Domina yelled. "Keep flying everyone!" Using his magic to help with evasion, Finral provided support by spamming open portals. "Tch." Switching to [Breath of Flames] Grim held his hands up high and started firing off [Rengokus] and left the flying to the others. "Hell yeah Grim!" Asta cheered. "Don''t distract me!" He yelled back and focused on defending. ''Dammit! Doing this without my swords is way weaker.'' "There!" Domina yelled. "Aim for that hole in the wall!" "Hole in the wha- Not having enough time to answer, Grim turned around only to be greeted to the sight of him and others about to crash into an unfamiliar floor. "Ughhh... Nice flying Finral." Grim grumbled while dusting himself off. "That hurt..." Asta ?r??n?d. "Ouch! No need to pinch me Domina." Fanzell yelped. Getting up off the floor, Grim wanted to look around the room and figure out where they were, unfortunately something in particular caught his eye. Standing mere feet away from them, a pink haired woman in an ugly green outside stood before them with her heel pressed down on the head of an unconscious Vanessa. "Vanessa!!" Asta and Noelle yelled. "Hey you!!" Asta called the woman''s attention. "I don''t care who you are, but you better get your foot off Vanessa right now!" "Don''t know who I am?" The woman slowly turned her head to look at them. "You break into my forest and then have the audacity to say you don''t even the know the person who rules over it? You truly are imperfect beings." "Domina, is that- "Yeah." Domina nodded cutting Noelle off. "That''s the mother of all witches, the Witch Queen." Putting a name to a face, the group of clover kingdom mages shook as they realized just who they were facing. "The Witch Queen eh." Grim''s voice rang out as he took a step forward. "Grim..." Noelle said with concern after seeing the look on his face. "A queen''s royalty right?" Taking another step closer to the queen, an orange glow surrounded Grim''s body and everyone felt the temperature around him rise. "Allow me to show you my disrespect." He grinned before releasing a powerful wave of mana. Chapter 62 - Invasion Shining brightly, Grim dug his feet into the ground before using his magic to explode the area between his soles and the ground to shoot forward. "FINRAL!!" He yelled. Hearing him, Finral''s grimoire flashed into sight as a portal appeared in front of Grim. "Hoh?" The witch queen raised a brow. [Unknowing Fire] Bursting out from behind her with a glowing blade in his hand, Grim swiped the sword at her neck aiming to beat her in one fell swoop. *Swoosh!* Slashing at her, Grim and everyone was shocked to see the witch queen disappear into a flock of crows. "GRIM!!!" Noelle yelled once she saw the crows gather above him to form the Witch Queen. Raising her hand high in the air, the Witch Queen''s grimoire glowed as a blood red weapon manifested in her hands. [Blood Creation Magic: Lifeblood Scythe] Looking down at the young boy, no emotion could be seen on the Witch Queen''s face as she unhesitatingly slashed down. "GRIM!!" Everyone screamed. "Heh." Grim looked up and grinned. ''What!?'' [Breath of Water: Flowing Dance] With the [Breath of the Beast] base enhancing his natural senses and combined with his ability to use Ki and enter the transparent world, Grim used his new spell to twist his body in an uncomfortable way and b?r?ly avoid the blow. *Cling!* Due to his increased degree of mana control, Grim compressed the power of his next attack as he jumped towards the Witch Queen and unleashed the full might of thunder. "DODGE THIS YOU ROYAL BITCH!!!" [Breath of Thunder - Third Form: Thunder Swarm] Knowing the speed at which had attack would move at, Grim was confident in this move as he had already jumped and closed the distance between the two of them. After facing off against Licht in that cave, Grim knew that he was far from being the strongest and that if he was gonna number one, he needed to rely on strategy just as much as brute force. "HYAHH!!!" Unleashing the lightning fast bolt magic, Grim watched as the attack was about to strike Queen. Watching the attack grow closer to her, the Witch Queen''s expression stayed the same as her grimoire flipped to a different mage and a red cocoon surrounded her body tanking the full brunt of the spell and causing the rise of a sudden dust cloud. "Tch!" Seeing this, Grim prepared to unleash another attack, but the moment he started circulating his mana, a feeling of dread washed over him as he instinctively jumped back to the others picking up Vanessa on the way. "Hoh? To think you''d grow this far in such a short amount of time. As expected of someone with that blood." The Witch Queen''s voice rung out amidst the dust cloud. ''That blood? Does she know!?'' "To not only get so close to me, but to also know when to retreat by sensing the slight fluctuations of mana... How beautiful." Once the dust cloud had settled, the scene in front of them caused the group to shake. "I-Impossible..." "S-She!!" Standing within a perfectly unscathed blood cocoon, the Queen revealed herself to the others completely unharmed and untouched. ''Dammit! I should of used [Breath of the Beast] to attack and cut through that cocoon.'' Just as the Queen was about to speak further, something seemed to catch her attention as she looked away from Grim''s group and into the distance. "They''re here..." Confused by the Queen''s words, everything became clear when two giant orbs showing different areas of the Witches Forest appeared in front of them. "Its the guys from the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the Diamond Kingdom!" Noelle exclaimed. "Yeah! And there''s that Mars guy!" Asta noted. "And that Fana girl." Grim focused on the pink haired girl ridding a would be dragon. ''Wait a second! Isn''t that thing way bigger than it was before?'' "M-Mars..." Fanzell stuttered as he looked upon the face of his past student. Frowning slightly, the Queen was about to raise her hand but was stopped by the next scene on the orb. [Spirit Magic: Salamander''s Breath] Opening its mouth wide, the magic entity known as Salamander formed a giant ball of fire magic in its mouth before aiming and firing it off into an unknown part of the forest. *BOOM!!* Watching the explosion and hearing the screams from the orb, Grim and the rest of them felt the tremor from here. "Such power..." "Incredible..." ''Its power is stronger than when it attacked Yami.'' While the others were watching the forest burn in horror, the Witch Queen herself was astonished by the sheer amount of power that an imperfect Salamander was capable of wielding. Watching the sea of flames from the hole in the wall, Grim couldn''t help but lament the fact that someone had stolen his idea of starting a forest fire. ''That pink haired bitch.'' "Hm? Grim! What are you doing here?" "Huh?" Hearing his name being called, Grim turned around in surprise to see a fully awakened Vanessa. Noticing the others as well, Vanessa couldn''t hide her surprise. "You guys are here to?" "Hey Vanessa." Domina waved. "Guess we both had the same idea about fixing Asta''s arms." "Asta''s arms? Oh shit that right! Wait here Asta, I''ll go talk to the queen about fixing you up." "Holdup a sec Vanessa." Grim suddenly stopped her and looked at Asta. "How come you haven''t tried using your anti magic swords to remove the curse?" ''Anti-magic?'' The Queen''s attention was caught. "Oh right!" Asta exclaimed as he pulled his Demon Dweller sword out with his teeth. ''That sword!'' "Wait Asta sto- "Arghh!!" Asta screamed as he cut into his arms. "You idiot! The curse has already sunk into the deepest parts of your arms!" Vanessa berated. *Sigh* ''Guess that was a dud.'' "Oi Queen of the lesbos." Grim called making the Witch Queen frown but still turn to face him. "Don''t you think its about time you stop standing around and heal my friends arms?" "Why would I do such a thing." "Simple." He smiled. "Because right now your precious forest is under attack and you need all the allies you can get. And I promise you, if you heal Asta''s arms, then not only will you have him fight to protect this shit hole, you''ll have all of us as well... Or you can reject my request and I''ll go out and help burn this bitch to the ground." "..." "..." Hearing his request, the Witch Queen stood in silence as she stared down the black haired young man. "Fine." She relented. "I''ll heal that boy''s arms and make them stronger than before." "Yes!" Everyone cheered. Raising her hand, she pointed at Asta and activated a weird spell that put Asta in a transparent cocoon of blood. ''I''ll heal this boy for now, but once this is over, Vanessa, Grim and that anti magic boy will be mine.'' Chapter 63 - Mighty Watching Asta being enveloped inside the blood cocoon, Grim kept an eye on the Witch Queen and noticed that she seemed to be putting more effort into healing Asta''s arms than she did their fight. Frowning at this realization, Grim wanted to say something but chose to stay quiet as Asta''s arms were the current priority. [A/n: Grim choosing to focus on a friend rather than someone stronger than him... How shocking.] Releasing him from the blood ball, Grim watch Asta slip out and pull his swords out from his grimoire. "HELL YEAH!! I''M BACK!" "Asta..." Everyone looked at him with relief. "Took you long enough." Grim smiled as he sword Asta holding both swords. Unlike the others who were celebrating, the Witch Queen turned her attention to Grim and spoke in a low voice that only he could here. "I''ve completed my end of the bargain, now its your turn." "Yeah yeah." He shooed her away. "I''ll help deal with these invaders, besides... There''s a certain bitch that needs an ?ss whoppin." Looking at the viewing orb, Grim''s fists clenched as he looked at Fana. "We only have three booms, we''ll be too slow if we all go together." Domina said after realizing this fact. "No problem." Grim said walking towards the huge hole in the wall. "Grim?" "I''ll see you guys there." "Wha- Before they could finish asking what he meant, a green aura surrounded Grim''s figure as green wind burst out from his body and sent flying into the distance. "Hey what are we waiting for!? LETS GO!!" Asta yelled now hyped up over his newly healed arms. Getting on the broom with everyone else, the Witch Queen watched as they flew off to repel the invaders. But the only thing in her mind at the moment was Grim''s figure as he left to go fight. ''Fire, water, lightning and now wind...'' "Ahahahahaha, come to me my beauties!!" A mage from the eye of the midnight sun laughed as he used vine magic to capture a couple of witches. "AAhhh!!" "Let go!!" "Stop!!" "Help!!" "Mine! BECOME MINE!!" [A/n: Using vine magic on female opponents... Imma leave that to your imaginations.] "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY YOU DAMN WEAKLINGS!!" "Huh?" "Humph!! No magic shall get past m- *SLASH!* "Shut the fu?k up." Blowing past him, Grim switched to [Breath of the Beast] and used [Crazy Cutting] to shred everything in his way including the vines trapping the witches and the vine mage''s throat before using his body as a spring board to jump at the over watching Fana. "Its another man!" "We were saved by a man ew!" Seeing him approaching, Fana recalled him from the cave. "You''re with the people who killed Vetto, I''ll kill you." Looking at him with those unblinking eyes, Fana''s mana started to fluctuate. [Spirit Magic: Salamander''s Breath] Unleashing another ball of fire, Grim couldn''t help but feel his heart accelerate as his infamous smile etched itself onto his face. ''I''m not the same as I was back then.'' Grinning at the descending attack, Grim''s aura turned grey. [Crazy Cutting] Flying head first into the falling fireball, the rotating aura blades around his body increased as he started hacking away with the beast swords. *BOOM!!* *SWOOSH!!* Bursting through the newly formed dust cloud with a couple of scuff marks and a slightly burnt top, Grim''s speed did not fall in the slightest as he continued shoot towards the Salamander. "You''re gonna have to do better than that you murder loving psycho!!" "I''LL KILL YOU!!" She shrieked as she and Salamander flew downwards intending to clash with him. "GRIM!!" Vanessa and the others screamed when they saw this. *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* [Spirit Magic: Salamander''s Claw] [Breath of Wind: Dust Whirlwind Cutter] Evading the attack with wind magic, Grim managed to avoid the attack, unfortunately the trees below him weren''t so lucky. "What the hell!!" "Are you kidding me!!" Watching the trees get torn apart, Vanessa and Finral thanked god that they weren''t standing there. "GO GET HER GRIM!!" Asta shouted from the distance as he dealt with his own opponents. Not expecting him to be able to dodge, Fana and the Salamander were caught of guard as Grim closed the distance between them and used his beast swords to deal two devastating sword wounds on the fire spirit. *RAAUGGHHHH!!* Salamander roared as it flew backwards in retreat. Watching this from the ground, Vanessa could b?r?ly believe her eyes. ''A spirits body is made up of magic, if he keeps using those swords that cut through magic to fight, we might actually win this!'' "Why are you doing this... Why do you keep hurting us..." Fana asked after Salamander retreated. "Just felt like it." Spamming [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] on repeat, Grim kept launching himself at the Salamander from many different directions. *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *SWOOSH!!* *RAAUGGHHHH!!* Spamming that attack on repeat, every time Grim came close to Fana and the Salamander he used [Crazy Cutting] to leave countless wounds on the spirits body before blowing past them and repeating the process again. [A/n: Lol, Grim doing to Salamander what Asta, Vanessa and Finral did to Vetto] "Dammit... DAMMIT... DAMMIT!!" Fana screamed. *Crack* *BOOM!!* *SWOOSH!!* Blown back by a sudden increase of mana, Grim landed on the ground next to his allies and looked up in surprise to see the diamond on Fana''s head shatter and turn into a third eye. ''This increase in mana...'' "Whoa!" Grim and the others had to cover their faces, as the Salamander flapped its wings. But that''s not where the surprises ended. With Fana''s sudden rise in mana, the Salamander''s form changed as it grew bigger and more muscular as crystals started floating around them. ''This magic... it feels just like Mars''s.'' Standing a top the swole Salamander surrounded by flames and crystals, Fana looked down at Grim with clear hostility. "Burn in the flames of my hatred." "Sorry, but I''m not a witch." Contrary to the despair she hoped to see, Grim raised his head to reveal a massive shit eating grin. Chapter 64 - Control Looking up to the flying Salamander surrounded by fire and crystals, Grim couldn''t help but marvel at Fana''s sudden rise in mana due to her third eye. ''So this is the third eye that Asta and the others were talking about.'' Unable to help himself, Grim found himself grinning at the situation. "Hey Grim, we''re in real trouble aren''t we?" Vanessa asked even though she already knew the answer. "Maybe." He shrugged. "Maybe? In that case, can you explain why you''re smiling?" "You feel it don''t you?" "What?" "The blood flowing in your veins, the beating of your heart, every instinct in your body telling you to run. You feel it don''t you?" He looked over. "I- Yeah." "Isn''t it exhilarating." He grinned. "...Not exactly." "Ha!" Stepping forward, Grim''s mana started rising. [Breath of Flames] Switching to this fire magic, Grim used the fact that he had some fire resistance to get closer to them. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." ''Wow, she really likes to talk... Kind of like that Licht guy now that I think about it... At least that guy could say more than three words.'' "I hate you." "Really? I never would have guessed." "Grim!" Finral called. "Due to the surge of mana in the area I can''t create any portals!" "Then use a broom to take the others and escape." Grim called back without turning around. "Escape? What about you." "I''m gonna go knock her out the sky." He pointed at the pink haired psycho. ''Pink haired psycho... Why am I getting some weird deja vu?'' "Are you crazy!" Vanessa yelled. "You can''t fight that thing!" "Watch me." He grinned before using his increased mana control and fire magic to combust and explode the area between his soles and the ground. "GRIM!!" She screamed as he shot upwards towards the enemy. "DIE!!" Fana shrieked as she threw both fire, spirit and crystal magic at him. "You first!!" [Breath of Wind: Dust Whirlwind Cutter] Using this spell to evade the attacks, Grim activated it in short bursts. Watching the exchange from the ground, Asta, Vanessa and Finral were awestruck. "He''s actually fighting against her... and not losing." Finral muttered with wide eyes. "Is it just me... or is Grim a lot stronger than before?" Vanessa asked. "Cool!!" Asta''s eyes shone. "If me and Luck fought him now, I don''t think we''d win! But just you wait Grim! I definitely won''t lose next time we fight!" "Hey guys! What''s going o-oh what the hell!!" "Hmm?" Hearing a familiar voice behind them, the trio turned around. "Oh, hey Noelle." They waved. "Don''t hey Noelle me! What the hell is that!" She pointed at the explosions in the sky. "That? Grim''s fighting the Salamander and that Fana girl." The three said causally. *RAAWWRR!!* Salamander screamed as Grim used the force behind [Rengoku] to slam it into the ground and causing the earth to shake as its landing created a crater. ''So fire magic works on this thing as well... Neat.'' "..." "..." "..." "..." "Isn''t he stronger than before?" Noelle looked to the others. Their response was a "I don''t know" shrug. ''Who knew that being able to control my mana to this extent would allow me to separate the heat from my attack and only leave the overwhelming force.'' *Cough* *Cough* Dragging her body out from the crater, Fana coughed up a nice mouthful of blood. "Y''know, my fire''s not as hot as your Salamander''s, but since you were also using crystal magic to fight, shouldn''t you have lasted a little longer?" Standing a bit away from her, a look of disappointment covered Grim''s face. Biting her lip, rage consumed Fana. "I''ll KILL Y- *BANG!!* "Get some new lines." Using [Unknowing Fire] to flash in front of her, Grim kicked her in the side of her jaw and sent her sprawling back to the Salamander before she could complete her catchphrase. --- -Witch Queen''s throne room- Standing in her tattered throne room the Witch Queen watched over the many battles happening in her territory. But the one that drew her attention the most was Grim''s ability to fight the Salamander. ''To think he''d grow this much in such a short amount of time... I have to take him now before he''s allowed to grow further.'' --- -Another battlefield- "What *huff* the hell did they do to him!" Fanzell asked as both he and Mars dodged Ladross''s [Million Laser] spell. "After you left, he took the military reconstructive surgery and gained the ability to absorb and expel magic." "WHAT!!" Fanzell looked shocked. Ignoring his surprise, Mars kept speaking. "If we hope to beat him, we only have two options." "What are they?" "The first is to feed him more mana than his body can handle . For that to work we''d need spirit magic, the Queen of this forest or... *Grim Flashback*... never mind." "What''s the other?" "Anti-magic." --- "Whoa! You actually beat her." Asta said after Grim joined the group. "Did you get stronger?" Vanessa asked. "In a sense." He nodded. "How?! You''ve been doing nothing but sitting around the base all this time." Finral added. "Well as it turns out, improving the way you control your own mana can actually be really effective." "..." "..." "..." "Grim... You do know the reason Noelle''s been having so much trouble is because she couldn''t control her mana right?" "Yeah, but our situations are different, while she couldn''t control her mana, I just never saw the need to put in too much effort in obtaining a greater degree of control." "But now you have?" "Yeah. You saw it didn''t you." He indicated to Fana and the Salamander. "Still... Isn''t this increase in power too much?" Vanessa asked still unable to wrap her head around this. "Not really, I''ve always had this much power, its just that I''ve only been able to bring it out recently." "No wonder you were smiling when she revealed her third eye... You never even considered the possibility of yourself losing." "Seriously?" Finral asked with a cramped smile. "Mana control..." Noelle muttered. "Cool!!" Smiling at their reactions, even Grim could hardly believe his elevation in power. To think that just tweaking the ways in which he utilized his mana would give off such an extreme reaction. But this was only the first step, if he was going to grow even stronger than he was he''d need to further grasp his control of mana. "How dare you..." "Hmm?" Feeling a fluctuation in mana from behind, Grim and the others turned around. "How dare you, how dare you! HOW DARE YOU!!" *BOOM!!* *RAAWWRRR!!!* "Whoa!" Releasing another wave of mana, Fana crawled to her feet as her eyes locked with Grim''s, But instead of say her usual catchphrase, she merely raised her arm. ''Seriously? This three eyed bitch can still stand?'' "ASTA!!" Fanzell yelled from the distance as both he and Mars were running from Ladross. "Fanzell?" [Spirit Magic: Salamander''s Breath] *BOOM!!* ''Its coming.'' "Hit that fireball towards me!!" Fanzell screamed. Confused by the order, Grim chose to stand back and let Asta run in front and use the flat side of his blade to deflect the fireball towards Mars and Fanzell. "Now!" Fanzell yelled as he used his wind magic to push him and Mars out the way of the attack. "WAHH!!" Ladross''s eyes widened as the fireball engulfed him. Chapter 65 - Ladros ''What the hell was that about?'' Watching Ladros''s body fall through the air, Grim couldn''t help but wonder what was going on. "Whoo, you''ve gotten stronger haven''t you Asta." Fanzell came over and praised. "Aww shucks, I don''t know about that." He scratched his head and laughed lightly. "Hey you!" Grim called out to Mars. "Aren''t you that loser from the dungeon that I stabbed a couple of times?" Pausing his steps, the expression on Mars''s face fell when he heard what Grim referred to him as. "Ahem, I''m Mars, its nice to formally meet you." He greeted. "Cool..." "Hey don''t greet him so casually!" Asta yelled and jumped in front of Grim while pointing his sword at Mars. "Don''t forget that he injured Noelle." "I''m not your enemy." Mars defended. "Its cool Asta." Grim said placing his arm on his shoulder. "I already beat him once so he''s no threat to us. Besides, I think even Noelle can beat him at this stage." "HEY!!" Noelle yelled from the background. "Anyway." He continued ignoring Noelle''s protest. "We have a bigger problem to deal with." He looked towards Salamander. Following his gaze, Mars and Fanzell''s eyes went wide. "F-Fana..." "I-Impossible, I heard that she died in one of Morris''s experiments." Fanzell mumbled in shock. Seeing her figure bathed in fire and feeling her mana, memories of their shared past flashed through Mars''s head. "FANA!!" He yelled and tried to reach her. "Whoa dude! What are you doing!!" Asta yelled pulling him back. "My head...!! Uargh! What''s happening to my head!" Clutching the side of her head, Fana winced in pain as she looked at Mars. "Fana it me!" Mars yelled struggling to get out of Asta''s hold. "Shut up!" "Its me Mars! Remember!?" "SHUT UP!!" *BOOM!!* ''Not again.'' "Disappear! All of you need to disappear!!" *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* Igniting and combusting the air around her, Fana''s magic started running rampant as that third eye on her forehead started shining brightly and fire engulfed her surrounding. "She''s gonna self destruct!" Finral yelled remembering the whole Vetto incident. "Dammit!" Vanessa cursed. "This entire place is gonna be reduced to ashes in a couple of minutes. "Your fault! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" Releasing even more rampaging mana, Fana''s kept screaming at Grim. ''What did I do?'' "Oi Asta." Grim called. "Huh?" "Yami stopped that Vetto guy from self destructing by killing him right?" "What? Yeah but what does that have to do wi- "It just makes dealing with this situation easier." Switching to [Breath of Flames] Grim took a step forward. "You''re not killing my childhood friend!!" "Ha?" Frowning at his actions, Grim placed his hand on Mars''s b?r? ?h?st. [Rengoku] *BANG!!* "Don''t touch me." Using the spell to hurl him into the distance, Grim fixed his collar and continued walking towards Fana. "MARS!" Fanzell yelled as he watch Mars get blasted away. "Hey! Not cool Grim!" Asta said. Ignoring him, Grim took full advantage of the fact that he had some fire resistance to close the distance between him and Fana. "You!! ITS ALWAYS YOU!!" She screamed. "Is that your final words?" He asked not slowing his steps. "BURN!!" Increasing the intensity of the fire, the area was encased in the orange glow as Asta and the others had no choice but to retreat as the heat started scalding them. Even Grim with his fire resistance started to feel the heat turn up as he started sweating. ''So this is far as my resistance goes huh?'' Thinking about it now, it took Yami one hit to defeat Vetto, Grim on the other hand had been fighting Fana for quite a while now and had hit at least over a hundred times and was still no closer to defeating her. "Please!" Mars''s voice rung out from a distance. "*Sob* Please don''t kill my friend!" Laying on the floor with smoking emanating from the area the [Rengoku] had hit him, Mars cried out in a painful voice as tears ran down his face. "..." Evading her mass fireballs, Grim briefly switched to [Breath of the Beast] to slash through the firewall around her and create an opening. Not expecting him to actually make it this far, Fana started becoming hysterical. "STAY AWAY!! STAY AWA- *BANG!!* Annoyed by her constant rambling, Grim shut her up by gathering mana into his fist and punching her directly in her third eye. --- "Holy crap! That actually worked!" Asta exclaimed after watching the flames dissipate. Standing in the crater with an unsteady standing Fana, Grim watched as the third eye on her forehead trembled violently before vanishing. ''So overloading it with mana works...'' While Grim may have gotten rid of her third eye by transferring a shit-ton of mana through his punch, his punch still packed quite a punch and caused the fragile bodied Fana to fall flat on her back. ''Hmm? Her mana levels have gone back down to normal... That weird familiarity I felt with her is also gone...'' Looking down at the pink haired girl, Grim was surprised to see a girl with gentle eyes looking back up at him. "..." "..." Bored with the outcome, he didn''t feel like killing her any longer as he sensed that she lacked the power to even compete with him further. In his eyes she was b?r?ly stronger than Mars, and considering how much stronger he was compared to Mars, fighting her would be beneath him. --- "How come you didn''t kill her?" While Mars and Fana reunited and were questioned by the others, Vanessa went over and stood next to Grim. "...I didn''t feel like she was a bad person." "She was about to blow everything away." "Yeah, but looking at that girl standing there now... I can''t see someone as gentle as her doing something so extreme." Looking at the girl who was clinging to the b?r? ?h?sted Mars, Vanessa couldn''t help but agree. "But what if she didn''t change? What would you have done?" "Isn''t it obvious? I would have killed her." "What?!" "Don''t look so surprised. If I felt like she was even a slight danger to my life, I would have killed her without blinking twice." "You... You actually mean it don''t you." "Yeah." He nodded before getting up and stretching. "Now we need to go and deal with the next problem." "The next problem?" Vanessa looked confused until she and the others suddenly felt a fluctuation of mana. Looking in the direction of the forest, Fanzell froze before screaming "EVERYONE RUN FOR IT!!" as beams of mana rained down on them from the sky *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!* Chapter 66 - Spirit Ladros Watching the beams descend from the sky, Grim used [Flowing Dance] to evade while everyone else fell victim. *BOOM!!* "URGH!!" "ARGHH!!" "UWAAHH!!" "My my." A voice sounded out from the distance as a man came walking out from the forest. "I thought I was dead for sure." Lifting his head up from the ground, with a pained expression present on his face, Fanzell looked at the figure with dread. "Impossible, I felt your mana signature disappear!" "Haha." Ladros laughed before looking at him. "You''ve grown old teach." "And it seems like our dear Mars is having a bit of trouble." Looking over to the area Fana and Mars were at, he laughed at the fact that Mars had used his body to protect Fana. "Oh well, I was planning to kill you anyway." He shrugged before shooting a magic bullet at him. "NOO!!" Fana screamed. Just as Grim was about to get involved, a voice appeared in his head telling him to stop. "Don''t get involved!" "Huh?" Hearing the unfamiliar voice speaking to him, Grim managed to put the voice to a face. "Lesbo Queen?" "..." Hearing him refer to her as that again, the witch queen couldn''t help but scowl in silence. "Don''t get involved." "Yeah, like I''m gonna listen to you." Ignoring her, Grim was about to go deal with Ladros but stopped when the Witch Queen said something that caught his attention. "Wait! If you fight him now you''ll miss something interesting!" "Interesting?" Halting his steps, Grim paused for a second and watched as Asta appeared in front of the defenseless Mars and Fana and used the Demon Dweller sword to cut through the magic bullet. "See." The witch queen continued. "Don''t you want to see what that boy is truly capable of?" ''What he''s truly capable of? Does the Witch Queen know something about Asta that I don''t?'' "If you just sit back and watch, I promise that you won''t be disappointed." "...Fine, but if this isn''t as interesting as your making it out to be, I promise to rename this place Salem in the future." "Salem? Why would I be worried about you trying to rename my forest?" "Disappoint me and you''ll find out." Ignoring her attempt to converse with him further, Grim played dead like the others and put on a pained expression as he watched the fight between Asta and Ladros. --- [Million Laser] "PISS OFF!!" Asta screamed as he furiously used the Demon Dweller sword to defend against the numerous number of beams raining down on him. "Ahahahahahahahaha!!" Ladros laughed as he watched him struggle. "I know all your fighting techniques!" He grinned. "Without that spacial mage who''s currently passed out, you can''t do a thing against long distance magic can you!! Ahahahaha! I''ll use you as target prac- "I said PISS OFF!!" "Wha?" Feeling a sharp pain boring into his shoulder, Ladros slowly lowered his head and saw the Demon Dweller sword sticking out of him. *Heavy Breathing* "That *huff* was for attacking my friends." Looking up from the ground, Asta watched as Ladros''s previous confident expression warped into one of panic. ''I-I can''t pull it out!'' [A/n: That''s what she said.] Feeling his magic getting su?k?d out, the magic he used to fly on that random branch stick faded causing him to fall to the earth. --- ''This is pretty boring, I thought she said I''d see something interesting... *Sigh* Looks like I''m really gonna have to rename this place Salem in the future, I just hope I can handle hearing those screams... Who am I kidding, I can just clog my ears if it gets annoying.'' ''Oh? Something''s happening.'' Desperate to get away from Asta, Ladros was forced to use reinforcement magic to run away and tear the Demon Dweller sword out of his shoulder. "ARGHHH!!" He screamed while pulling it out. With no other option left, he charged over to the weakened Mars and Fana. "Oh no!" Covered in sweat and desperate for a solution, he grabbed Fana up from the floor and started threatening her. "L-Ladros!" "Hey Fana, long time no see. I''m a bit short on time so do me a favor and bring out that powerful magic you were using before okay?" "Powerful magic?" She looked confused. Unfortunately, her confusion only seemed to enrage him. "DON''T FUCK WITH ME!!" *BANG!! "MARS!!" She screamed after he fired a magic bullet at Mars''s unconscious figure. "HURRY UP FANA!! OR THE NEXT ONE WILL KILL HIM!!" "I-I ARRRGHHHHHH!!!!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, an intense heat burst out of her body as Salamander''s silhouette formed behind her back. "Hahahaha!! Its here!!" Still pretending to be injured, Grim watched everything from the sidelines and started wondering how he would deal with someone who could absorb and expel magic in the same way as Ladros did. ''Hmm... I guess I''d just stop using magic on my swords and just use them as normal weapons. I mean, if he can''t absorb the magic within them, then wouldn''t a simple decapitation do the trick? Hell, I don''t think I''d even need to go that far. Since he hasn''t shown any healing abilities so far, slashing his throat or stabbing him through the heart would probably be enough to kill him.'' "Fufufufufu. Out of all the magic I''ve devoured before, this is definitely the best!!" While Grim was thinking of ways to defeat him, Ladros had taken that time to absorb the Salamander''s immense amount of magic power and surpass the spirit. "You bastard!!" Asta yelled before charging him. "Be quiet will you." Adding the power of the Salamander on with his own, Ladros no longer felt like playing with Asta as he lifted his hand up and shot a magic bullet enhanced by spirit magic through Asta''s shoulder as revenge for the wound Asta dealt to his own shoulder. ''S-So fast...'' *Crash!* Stumbling backwards, Asta fell flat on his back. "Ahahahaha!!" Ladros laughed again. "This is it! This is the ultimate power! With this, even the other eight shining generals won''t be able to stop me! With this power, the kingdom will be mine!!" Reveling in his own power, Ladros started firing magic off randomly. "HELL FUCKIN YEAH!! I''ll wipe out all those who looked down on me!!" He grinned wildly. ''Okay, this is getting out of hand, if I don''t step in now he might actually kill my friends... He can kill that Mars guy though. Not really invested in him... That Fana girl on the other hand could be an interesting opponent if she regained her former power and got like 3x stronger.'' Just as Grim was about to get up, the sight of Asta standing up caused him to hesitate. "I''m *huff* not done yet!" "Oh? Didn''t think you''d be able to stand so quickly. Well who cares, I''ll make sure you don''t do that again." Firing off another spirit magic enhanced magic bullet, Asta''s body was sent hurling into the distance as he took that attack head on. "ASTA!!" Noelle and the others screamed. "WITCH QUEEN!!" Grim yelled in his head. --- -Witch Queen Throne Room- Hearing Grim''s rage filled call, the Witch Queen looked at her viewing orb with confusion. ''He fell so quickly? Was I wrong about what he was capable of? Since he was able to wield that sword I thought he might have been that man''s descendant but...'' Looking at the defeated Asta and the now hostile Grim, the Witch Queen sighed and raised her hand to the orb showcasing Asta''s figure. ''Even if you''re not that man''s descendant, I will find out what you are.'' --- -Back to the Battlefield- Laying face down in the dirt with his hand gripping his Demon Slayer sword, an ominous black energy started pouring out of the sword and crawled up Asta''s arm. Chapter 67 - Black Asta ''This feeling... Its not magic'' Watching with bated breaths, Grim, Noelle, Fanzell and the others stared in shock as the sky darkened and red lightning flashed through the air. "Asta..." Emerging from within a pitch black cocoon, Asta re-emerged to the word sporting a lightless black arm, a single pitch black wing and a curved black horn spouting from the side of his head. "What the hell!!" Ladros backed up slightly. ''Is this... Is this what the queen was talking about...'' Forgetting that he was supposed to pretend to be hurt, Grim''s grimoire flashed into sight as it started pulsing with energy. ''This feeling... Its just like the first time I met I saw Asta wield his sword.'' Recalling that time at the magic knight''s exam when his grimoire reacted to Asta, Grim realized that it wasn''t Asta that his grimoire was reacting to, it was the anti-magic. ''Does it feel threatened? No. Its more like something about Asta''s grimoire is agitating it...'' Feeling the aura around his grimoire growing, Grim did his best to suppress it just like he had did during the magic knight''s exam as to not interrupt Asta and draw attention to himself. Unfortunately this did not escape the Witch Queen''s eyes. Remembering that he had the power that surpassed that of one of the great spirits, Ladros calmed himself down and started laughing. "That''s quite the transformation you''ve got there. But pray tell, what exactly are you gonna do with it!!" Thrusting his arm forward, he unleashed powerful beam of magic at Asta in an attempt to incinerate him. Unfazed by the attack, Asta raised his sword up high as he took a step forward before slashing down with enough force to crack the ground and nullifying the magic in the process. "Impossible!!" Blown back by the shockwave from Asta''s sword swing, Ladros took to the air and started firing off an untold number of magic bullets. "Hahahaha!! You can''t fly! Now stay down there and be crushed like the bug that you are!!" Reading his ki, Asta ??? through the battlefield before breaking through his attacks and taking to the sky with his black wing. Seeing them both fly without the use of a broom, Finral couldn''t help but say. "They fly now!!" Confirming that what they were seeing was actually real, everyone nodded in union and said "They fly now!!" ''This strength.'' *BANG!!* ''This speed.'' *BANG!!* ''This power.'' *BANG!!* Watching all of this from the ground, Grim felt his hands form themselves into fists as he realized that Asta''s current strength was only a bit if not on par with his. The power he attained through many days to of concentration and mana control was immediately achieved within seconds by Asta in this new form of his. For the first time since coming to this world, Grim finally realized the unfairness of those with extra leaves on their grimoires. ''First Yuno''s sudden rise in power and now this! Tch, that God must be laughing his ?ss off right now.'' While Grim was indeed happy that Asta had gotten stronger, he disliked the fact that the gap between them that he had worked so hard to make had closed with a simple transformation. That being said, he realized that elevating his own power-up by simply getting better at controlling his own mana was also absurd. For someone like Noelle who had struggled with this fact for years, it was indeed absurd that someone like Grim who had only been in the world for five years had better control of his mana despite only really practicing for a few days. In fact, if he had practiced controlling his mana within these past five years, who knows just how powerful he''d be right now. Watching the fight continue from ground level, Grim couldn''t help but nod at what he was seeing. "SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!" Firing off multiple beams of magic while also running for his life, Ladros cursed endlessly as the odds were slowly turning against him. -Witch Queen Throne Room- "I see now, at first I thought he was just like you, but it seems as though through some kind of spontaneous mutation, his body became incapable of having mana dwell in it. He is simply a defect. But it is because of this defect that he is capable of wielding that sword. He is nothing special at all, but it is because he is nothing special, that he is able to become remarkable." Listening to the Queens explanation from the battlefield, Grim found himself staring at his flying friend. "STAY AWAY!! MOVE IT!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!" Confused, frightened and extremely desperate, Ladros let out a roar as he gather up a large quantity of mana and shot a flaming dragon shaped magic bullet at Asta who had finally decided to finish this. "In his presence..." "BLACK- "STAY BACK!! "All magic is- "METEOR- "STAY BACCCKKK!!! "Meaningless." "RITE!!" Charging through the descending fire and magic, like a rising black star, Asta broke through the flames and with the pitch black Demon Slayer overflowing with anti-magic power, he slashed right through Ladros''s ?h?st. --- "Amazing..." Watching Asta defeat Ladros, Noelle and the others were b?r?ly unable to comprehend the sight before them. After being hit by Asta''s Black Meteorite, Ladros''s body was sapped of all its mana and left him looking like a anorexic mummy. "Kill me..." Standing above him with his wing one red eye, Asta looked down on him with no emotion. This lasted for about a second until Asta switched back to his normal state where he started talking about how killing is wrong and that he should repay all the people he''s hurt. It was very Asta-like. Watching the anti-magic power leave his body, Grim decided to get up now that the fight was over. And while he might not like the Bitch Queen much, he had to admit that she came through with her promise about showing him something interesting. ''What is she doing here?'' "Witch Queen!!" Asta exclaimed with shock and excitement. "I did it! Did you see me? I beat all the guys from the Eye of the Midnight Sun and Diamond Kingdom!" "I see..." She nodded while looking over at Grim and smiling. ''Oh no!'' "RUN ASTA!!" Call it instinct or a sixth sense, but the moment the Witch Queen arrived on the battlefield, an unsettling feeling overcame Grim as he Instinctively switched to [Breath of Flames] to explode the area between the earth and his feet to shoot into the sky. Seeing him jump away, the creepy smile on the Witch Queen''s face revealed itself to everyone as she raised her hand [Blood Creation Magic: Scaffold of Fresh Blood]. With her grimoire wide open, a large pool of blood burst forth from the ground spreading along the dented earth and covering the floor. Watching as his teammates were restrained by red crucifixes that rose up from the blood pool, Grim couldn''t help but curse internally. ''To think you''d actually sense my intent... That blood of yours must have made you s?ns?t?v? to mana.'' Smiling at Grim''s action of jumping out of her range, the Witch Queen couldn''t help appreciate him even more. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!" Infuriated by the Lesbo Queen restraining his friends, Asta turned to the Queen and yelled. Hearing his voice, the Bitch Queen was irritrated that he had interrupted her thoughts on Grim and replied with a cold "Silence." "GAAHHHH!! ARGGHHHH!!" Feeling a sudden pain spreading through his body, Asta clutched parts of his body as his legs became weak. "My magic is the ability to make us and control blood- "ARGGHHH!!!" "From the moment I used my magic to heal your arms, my magic had already infected you and gave me the ability to freely control all the blood in your body." "GYYAHHHH!!!" "Did you really think I''d let someone with the power to negate magic go so easily?" [Blood Magic: Puppet Bloodflow] Taking control of Asta''s body, Asta''s screams suddenly stopped as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started acting like a puppet on strings. "Hmm? Your body''s no good in that condition." Flipping to another page in her grimoire, she used the same spell she had used earlier on his arms to heal his entire body." "Since I cannot wield the anti-magic swords myself, all I need to do is control someone who can." ''This bitch is really insane.'' "You''ve already shown me how you fight, now you can spend the rest of your life working for me as my sword." Smiling at the bound black bull members, the queen forcefully put Asta back into his black form. "For your first ?ssignment, I''ll have you capture your black haired friend over there." Seeing her pointing to him, Grim clicked his tongue and summoned out his Beast swords. "Tch, still wanting to control men even though you don''t like them, you really are the queen of the lesbos." Chapter 68 - Black Form Asta vs Mana Control Grim *BOOM!!* Kicking off the floor with enough force to break ground and leave a deep rooted crater behind, Asta flashed through the air with a ludicrous speed that surpassed that of his fight with Ladros. *BANG!!* Not backing down in the slightest, Grim copied Asta''s movements as he also charged his friend. Clashing their blades together, the impact from the connection caused a powerful shockwave to shake the land as violent winds started blowing causing the hair on everyone''s head to rise. "H-Holy crap!" Compared to when Asta fought Ladros, after healing his previous injuries, the current power of Asta actually surpassed his past self. *CRACK!!* Hearing that sound, Grim''s eyes went wide as the Beast swords shattered and he was pushed back. After clashing head on with him, Grim discovered that not only was Asta faster than before, but his physical abilities had also been enhanced to the point that a single swing had enough force to shatter his swords. "Tch!!" Slowing down his momentum by digging he heels into the ground, Grim used [Breath of Flames] to explode the area between the ground and his soles to give him an explosive boost in speed as he shot towards the charging Asta. [Breath of Flames: 1st Form: Unknowing Fire] [8 Layered Mist] Unleashing a flurry of numerous arc shaped mist attacks, Grim watched as the one winged Asta took to the air and either dodged or deflected every attack with the Demon Slayer sword. Seeing Asta''s rapid accession and knowing that Grim couldn''t fly, worry gripped the hearts of Vanessa and the rest as they saw Asta''s blade centimetres away from hitting Grim. But just then a look of shock covered both theirs and the Witch Queen''s faces as Grim somehow managed to move backwards mid air allowing the Demon Slayer sword to pass in front of his face before he delivered a [Breath of the Beast] enhance power kick to Asta''s ?h?st sending him sprawling into the distance. "He flies now!!" Noelle gasped. "Amazing, to think he''d so much control over his mana that he could levitate. He truly is a being loved by mana." Watching the battle from the ground view, the Witch Queen couldn''t help but marvel at Grim''s capabilities as a mage. And just like they had said, Grim was floating in the air without the use of a broom or spell. *BOOM!!* Not wasting time, Grim switched to [Breath of Wind] to make himself swifter as he shot towards the distant Asta. Stabilizing himself in the air, Asta''s pupil-less eyes stared at the approaching Grim and prepared to use [Black Meteorite] as he shot towards the green clad figure. "Its over." The Queen smiled. Closing in on one another again, Asta prepared to execute [Black Meteorite] once more but was surprised when Grim did something unexpected. Instead of clashing head on, Grim switched to [Breath of Water] and used [Flowing Dance] to beautifully weave through the slash and deliver several bloody slashes on his body. "Oh?" Surprised by the sudden occurrence, the Witch Queen couldn''t help but raise her brows. From what she saw from Asta''s fight with Ladros, she knew that his battle senses were incredible as it seemed like he was able to see through all of Ladros''s attacks before he could even make them. But this, this didn''t make sense. While she knew Grim was strong from his fight with Fana and the Salamander, never in her wildest dreams did she think that he was able to combat her new sword. [Flowing Dance] [Crazy Cutting] Switching between these two breath styles in rapid succession of each other, the precision of strikes and the power in each blow slowly increased as he started getting used to aerial combat and begun to dominate the fight. ''He''s actually improving...'' Forget his potential, forget his mana reserves, forget his ability to fly, the fact that he was visually improving in front of her eyes was enough of a shock to the witch queen that her inner d?s?r?s started... leaking out. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Beating down on Asta with [Crazy Cutting], every time his swords were on the brink of shattering Grim cast them away and materialized new ones to take their place. With his absurd amount of mana within him, this wasn''t really a problem and the longer he did it the faster he got at materializing them. Protecting himself with the Demon Slayer sword, Asta slowly found himself falling into a disadvantageous position as Grim was above him and ruthlessly bore down on him with a relentless amount of slashes. ''Dammit! I know that the situation is really bad and all that... But why... WHY CAN''T I STOP SMILING!!'' [Breath of Flames - 9th Form: Rengoku] With the increased control of his mana, Grim raised the burning fire sword high above his head before slashing down. But unlike before, Grim gathered the raging power of the [Rengoku] spell and held it within the blade causing it to shine brightly as the moment the sword hit the flat side of the Demon Slayer sword he unleashed the devastating power of [Rengoku] and unlike what would normally happen where a spell could be deflected off the blade, Grim kept feeding the spell power and watched as the beam of concentrated fire pushed against the black sword until Asta was forced down from the sky and back to the earth. With enough force to shake the ground, Asta''s back slammed violently hard into the dirt creating a mini crater in the process and causing a large dust cloud to cover the Bitch Queen and everyone else in the area. Looking at his cracked swords, Grim frowned before using the mana he normally used to materialize new swords to repair his current ones. ''Oh? If I clash with Asta again then I guess I can just repair my swords before they break.'' Thinking about his first clash with black form Asta, Grim realized that even though his swords were physical, every time his swords came into contact with the Asta''s Demon Slayer, the magic surrounding the blades would be nullified. But if he was fast enough, then wouldn''t it be possible for him to repair the blades faster than the anti-magic could negate it? If so, then he''d have no problem fighting Asta with pure swordsmanship. Smiling to himself, he completely forgot that he was in the middle of a battle until Asta''s black figure burst from the ground and charged back into the sky. Grinning at the fact that he was still capable of fighting back, Grim used [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] to shoot down and meet him head on. Feeling the wind whip against his face, the blood in his body started to become restless as every sensation he had sharpened. *BANG!!* Clashing their swords together mid air, a powerful shockwave that ripped the very trees from their roots echoed out as the two locked swords together. ''Its working!! ITS REALLY WORKING!!'' Using his magic to repair his swords faster than the anti-magic could negate the effects, Grim found himself fighting evenly with Asta in a head on battle. While he may not have been able to compete with him physically, his outrageous amount of mana made up for it. So what if Asta broke his swords! He''d just fix them before they truly shattered. *BANG!!* *BANG!!* Swinging their swords wildly, the sound of metal clashing against metal rung out as the two of them fought on even terms with Grim slowly gaining the advantage again. *SWOOSH!!* Dodging a well aimed neck strike, Grim slashed at Asta''s torso and left two deep sword wounds on his body. As the fight extended, Grim learnt a very important fact. While Asta was stronger now compared to when he fought Ladros (physically) his consciousness was no longer then causing him to make simple mistakes that a conscious Asta wouldn''t. Angered by this fact, his strikes become a lot more viscous as he intended to completely crush Asta. [Crazy Cutting] Not holding back in the slightest, Asta was forced to defend as a flurry of deadly sword strikes bore down on him. "H-He''s winning!!" Noelle gasped from the ground. "No." Vanessa''s lips trembled. "He''s killing him." "End this? Its just beginning." *BANG!!* Having her dress flutter from the shockwave produced by their sword clashes, the Witch Queen turned to look at Vanessa. "Vanessa will gather that which I d?s?r? and eventually she will return to the forest. That it what my divination foretold. That is why I did not stop you from leaving with that... man." She said the last part with mild disgust. "Though I never would have thought that you return to me that child and a boy wielding anti-magic." "I-I did this..." "Do you not understand Vanessa? Because you are my daughter, my family, you will never escape me, you are mine Vanessa. Everything you own belongs to me, your comrades, your emotions, your power, your very being, its all mine." "I-I don''t belong to you." "Oh?" Hearing her daughter talk about to her, the witch queen raised her eyebrow as the battle above her raged. "You say we''re family but you don''t know the first thing about what that means! You know nothing of love, compassion or heart! Someone as empty as you will never understand me or the bonds I''ve made! So don''t you dare call me your family again! The only people I call my family is the BLACK BULLS!!" *CRASH!!* Crashing violently into the ground for the second time, a bloody and bruised up Asta crawled his way to his feet. Seeing his ragged figure and hearing the strain in his breathing, it didn''t take much for Vanessa to understand that his body was on the brink of a breakdown and that if he fought any further then there would be a good chance of him dying. "So you couldn''t even defeat him despite using your new power... What an imperfect doll you are." Seeing his pitiful body struggle to get back up, the Witch Queen sighed with annoyance. "Guess I''ll have to deal with him myself, at least make yourself useful and kill some of your comrades." ''What!'' Tightening his hold on the Demon Slayer sword, the conscious-less Asta stumbled his way to the front of the crucified Noelle. "A-Asta." ''SHIT! I won''t make it in time!'' Seeing what Asta was about to do, Grim shot down from the sky with as much speed as [Breath of Wind] granted him. "Watch how those bonds of yours are so easily broken." The witch queen grinned and gave Asta the order. "N-No- NO!!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, a violent red aura burst out from Vanessa grimoire as a small mass of red string formed and weaved itself into the shape of a cat. Chapter 69 - Sensation Fate is a funny thing, to those who try to defy it, they do so not realizing that in doing so they are mere slaves walking the path of a predetermined fate. For the Queen of Witches who see''s herself as the closet being to perfection, having control of this power would truly grant her that perfect status. "So you''ve finally awakened." Unable to hold it back any further, the Witch Queen burst out into a gleeful fit of laughter. ''Anti-Magic, Fate manipulation and the blood of the species loved by mana... MINE, THEY WILL ALL BE MINE!!'' Seeing that the Queen was distracted by the sudden appearance of Vanessa''s red cat, Grim took it upon himself to take the bitch out before she could command Asta to do something he''d regret. [Breath of Thunder] Switching to the magic with the fastest attack speed, Grim didn''t want to leave the Queen with any time to react. [3rd Form: Thunder Swarm] Swinging his blade forward, multiple arcs of spinning lightning shot out and struck the queen. Not to his surprise, the queen had erected a blood barrier around herself that defended against the lightning. Not willing to waste time on Grim and his attacks, the queen focused her attention on Vanessa and her cat. While Grim''s blood and ancestry did spark the Queen''s greedy nature, compared to the power to manipulate fate it was inconsequential. Commanding Asta to kill Noelle, he held the sword tightly before swinging it and decapitating the silver haired noble. "NOELLE!!" Screaming loudly, Vanessa didn''t even realize that her cat had touched Asta and the scene they were seeing now was completely different to the gruesome one they had seen seconds before. Instead of cutting through Noelle''s neck, Asta sliced though the bottom part of the crucifix holding her up. ''WHAT!!'' [Rip and Tear] Taking advantage of the Queen''s momentary ??pse in attention, Grim switched to [Breath of the Beast] and easily sliced through the blood barrier before arriving at the Queen''s side and activating [Crazy Cutting]. "Bye bye bitch!" Watching the blades grow larger in her eyes, the Queen felt her life flash before her eyes as she panicked and instinctively summoned all her crows to her side making them taste the metal of Grim''s blade. *SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH* Unfazed by the sudden appearance of the crows, Grim massacred the lot of them in seconds before charging the queen who was in a state of shock after almost having her life ended by someone weaker than her. "QUEEN!!" He yelled gripping his swords tightly and jumping at her. "S-STAY BACK OR I''LL KILL HER!!" At this range and with his swords capable of cutting through magic, the queen knew any defense she had would be useless unless she managed to put some distance between them or stop his charge. With that idea in mind, she used [Puppet Bloodflow] on Vanessa and planned to use her as a hostage. [Breath of Wind] Switching breath styles again, Grim pushed his mana to the absolute limit as he burst forward at a speed so fast that his wind sword didn''t even have enough time to form as he drove his fist deep into the Witch Queen''s bony cheek. *BANG!!* Compressing and combusting the air between his fist and the Queen''s cheek, an explosive amount of force burst out as Grim broke the bones in her cheek and sent her flying high into the air. Feeling the unfamiliar presence of four tiny paws appearing on his shoulder, Vanessa''s red cat leapt off of him and landed on the witch queen''s airborne body dispelling any magic that she had active. ''Damn, that''s the second woman I''ve punched today... Should I go for a third?'' --- "Probably a weird thing to ask considering the circumstances and all that, but how does it feel to lay flat on your back while a man bears down on you?" He asked with a mischievous grin. Coughing up a mouthful of blood and several teeth, the Queen awoke to the feeling of sharp metal pressed against her neck. One wrong move and her life would be cut like a piece of string. "I-I lose..." "No shit." Showing off an innocent smile, he was as he was about to pierce her throat but the sound of Vanessa''s sudden call stopped him. "Don''t kill her!!" "Eh?" Without turning to look at her, he tilted his head while keeping his eyes trained on the Witch Queen. "She''s beaten, there''s no need to kill her." Vanessa said after arriving by his side. "Seriously? That''s your argument?" "Grim... If you kill her then there will be no one left to protect the Witches Forest." "...What about the witches?" Vanessa shook her head. "They need a strong leader to protect them. Without her the Witches Forest wouldn''t survive the attacks from the neighboring kingdoms." "As bad as that sounds, its not really my problem." "Grim please." Hearing the desperation in her voice, Grim eventually relented and slowly moved his sword away from the Queen''s throat. "You owe me." Nodding her head, she watched as he walked away before looking back at the bloody mouthed queen. "He really is incredible isn''t he." The Queen grinned looking up at her daughter. "..." "Not only is he loved by mana, his prowess is in combat is amazing." "...I never thought I''d see the day when you''d praise a man." "Hahaha *cough* *cough*." Coughing up another mouthful of blood, the queen dusted off her clothes as she struggled to her feet. Activating her healing magic, she removed the concussion and healed her face. Looking at her daughter''s resolute face, a series of flashbacks played in the queen''s head as she eventually smiled before healing the others and inviting them back to her throne room. --- "What you people call a magic stone is likely this." Removing her earring, the Queen threw it to Grim who caught it with little difficulty. Having not gone on the seabed temple mission with the others, this was the first time that Grim had seen a magic stone. "Why would the Eye of the midnight sun be after this?" Staring at Grim''s face closely, the Queen briefly closed her eyes before opening them and answering. "That stone in your hand has the ability to amplify the magic power of the person wielding it." "Whoa!" "Seriously!!" "Unfortunately, only those born from the Elven tribe can use it to its full potential." Hearing the words "Elven", Grim''s eyes focused sharply on the stone in his hand. This action did not go unnoticed to the Queen who merely smiled. "Elven? As in elves?" Finral asked confused by what she meant. Nodding her head, the Queen explained that it was unknown where the Elves exactly came from. She also brought up some information that the group weren''t knowledgeable about, like the fact that the elves lived in what is currently known as the forsaken realm. Oddly enough, that''s where Asta''s village was located. The group also learnt that the elves were a species born with a naturally high amount of magic power with most of them possessing magic power on par with the Queen herself. She then went on to explain that the elves came into conflict with the humans and due to their superior numbers the elves were defeated and eventually faded away into the annuls of history. Furthermore, the third eye that Fana possessed was actually the result of somebody casting forbidden magic on her. She then focused her attention on Grim and payed attention every minor expression that crossed his face. "It could be possible that Eye of the Midnight Sun are descendants of the elf tribe. Furthermore *looks at Asta* those swords you wield are the last remains of the elf tribe leader that summoned the ancient demon god." "WHAATT!!" Overloaded with too much information that he couldn''t understand, Asta''s brained seemed to spasm as he fainted and started mumbling to himself. --- After fixing Asta''s arms and getting the magic stone along with a plethora of new information, it was time for the black bulls to leave. "Grim." The Queen called out. "A word if you will." "What! No way!" Asta said standing in front of him and preparing to bring his anti-magic swords out. Placing his hand on his shoulder, Grim gently pulled him back. "Its fine Asta." "What! But she- "I know." He nodded. "But I want to talk to her to." Hearing the conversation, Vanessa came and stood by his side. "Are you sure." "Yeah." Looking into his eyes, Vanessa couldn''t gleam any information from his face and eventually sighed before grabbing Asta and heading outside. "We''ll wait for you out here." Nodding his head, Grim waited until the group had left the area to finally turn his attention back on the Queen. "..." "...." "...." "...." Not liking the fact that the Queen''s throne gave her a position in which she was looking down on him, Grim manipulate his mana to gently levitate off the ground and fly above the throne so he could look down on her. [A/n: Weird flex but okay.] Seeing him flying, the Queen couldn''t help but breathe out lightly. "What noble mana... You''ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you." "Yeah about that, you keep implying that you know me, but I''m pretty sure we''ve never met before." Falling silent, the Queen looked at Grim''s face like she was trying to memorize it. "5 years ago you appeared within my forest through some powerful means unknown to me." Hearing her talk about the past 5 years, Grim frowned. "You knew I was there." "Knew you were there? I protected you while you lived in my territory." "What!" "Don''t tell me you didn''t find it strange that you as a child was able to survive so many run ins with powerful beasts without losing your life." "Well yeah, but I was a pretty badass kid so..." "For the two years you spent living in my forest, I ensured that you had everything you needed to survive. Whenever you fell hungry I provided you with a weak animal that you could easily hunt, whenever you became thirsty I cleared the stream so that no predators would attack. Even in your sleep, I protected you from the senses of any preying beasts." Hearing all of this, Grim was mildly shocked but quickly calmed himself down as only one question persisted in his mind. "Why? Why would a man hating carpet munching ?unt like you protect a child like me? And don''t say it was because I was a kid, after seeing how you treat your own daughter that bullshit won''t work on me." Ignoring his blatant insult, the Queen looked him up and down before explaining. "Your blood." "My blood?" ''Don''t tell me she has a blood fetish!!'' Seeing the weird expression on his face, the queen frowned. "Whatever your thinking is incorrect." "Ahem, please explain." *Sigh* "I can sense the blood of the elf tribe running through your veins, powerful but yet to be unleashed. But from your reaction to me explaining how the elves were wiped out earlier, you already knew that didn''t you?" "..." Seeing that he wasn''t going to say anything, she continued. "Originally, I planned to guide you into the Witches Forest and then turn you into my puppet." "What stopped you?" Gazing at his face, the Witch Queen thought back to the time of his childhood. "Like with my daughter, I had a divination that you would return to this place and with you you''d awaken a long lost sensation within me." ''Long lost sensation?'' Remembering the punch he had delivered to the side of her face and all the bloody accompanying it, Grim could help but grin. ''Quite a painful sensation if I do say so myself.'' "Although it was quite a surprise to see you here with my daughter and that anti-magic boy, I now understand the sensation that the divination foretold of. Boy, no, Grim, for the past hundreds of years- ''Hundreds of years? How old is this bitch?... She looks good though.'' "I have sought out perfection, first it was through my magic, then it was through my daughter and now I see it is through you." "Excuse me?" "After seeing what you were capable of today, from your power, potential and battle senses, I finally understand the true path to perfection." ''What is she on about?'' "With my knowledge and power combined with your blood and potential, we would be unstoppable!" ''Combined?'' "Wait a second!! You don''t mean- "Breed me Grim!" She declared. "And together we will birth the greatest witch! No! The perfect witch!" "..." "..." "Grim?" "FUCK NO!!" He suddenly yelled catching her off guard. "What?!!" Not expecting that answer, the Queen was understandably confused. While she may not be as young as her daughter Vanessa, she knew she would still be able to turn heads if she appeared in any of the four kingdoms. "Listen lady, forgetting the fact that you''re like 800 years old or something (though I would still smash), if there''s one thing m memories have made very clear to me, its to not stick my d??k in crazy!! Especially those with crazy lesbian strength! And besides! What do you mean the perfect witch! What if it came out as a boy!" Instead of answering, the Queen looked down to his crotch and frowned. For some reason, Grim could hear the distant sound of scissors. "Yeah, this ain''t happening. It was nice meeting you, well not really but thanks for the magic stone. Bye." Waving his hand, Grim didn''t waste any time listening to anything the Witch Queen had to say any further as he blew another hole in the throne room wall and flew through it and into the distance. Chapter 70 - Returning to the base "WE''RE BACK BITCHES!!" Kicking the door open, Grim and the rest of the squad that went to the Witches Forest strolled in much to the annoyance of Yami. "Captain Yami!!" Asta yelled and ran to his side. "Look! My arms are healed!!" Raising his head up from his newspaper, the first thing Yami said actually wasn''t related to his arms at all. "Why are you half n?k?d?" "Eh?" Looking down at himself, Asta remembered that his clothes had burned during his fight with Spirit Ladros. "Yami san!!" Vanessa rushed to his side and handed him something. "We got a magic stone!" "Seriously?" He said in surprise before calling Asta. "Oi kid!" "Yes sir!" "Now that your arms are healed I can give you a special mission." "Special mission!!" Asta''s eyes glowed. "Yeah." He nodded. "It one that only you can do." "Really!! What is it!? I promise I won''t fail!" "Good, good. Now go buy some booze, we''re gonna celebrate tonight." "YES SIR!!" Saluting to him for some reason, Asta ran upstairs, grabbed his money pouch then sped out of the building. "And you." Yami turned to look at Grim before squaring up to him. "Who gave you permission to kick my door?" --- "Yeah, so now I can fly. Cool right?" Grim asked after telling him what went down in the Witches Forest. "Mmm." Yami nodded taking a swig of alcohol. "That''s your reaction! Do you have any idea how much mana control is needed to do that!? Be more impressed!" Gulping down the beer, Yami slammed the mug down on the table and looked at him. "So what if you can fly now. Julius can fly, that pasty dude we fought in the cave could fly, hell even that bird that follows you and the shrimp around can fly! You''re really not that special." "Oh fu?k you! If anybody can fly then why don''t you do it!" Grim defended. "Tch, you don''t think I can? I just haven''t surpassed my limits yet." "What the hell does that even mean! Surpassing your limits and flying because of immaculate mana control are totally different!" Suddenly realization dawned on Yami''s face as he looked at Grim with clear eyes. "You''re right, now that you can fly we should use your abilities to their fullest." "You finally understand." "Yeah, now you can fly up to the roof and scrub away all the nasty bird shit that''s been gathering there for years." "...." "...." "...." "...." "You really want to go don''t you?" "I''m back!!" He announced slamming the alcohol on the table. "Took ya long enough brat." Yami grinned ???king open another bottle and draining it of its contents. "Hehe." Asta chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "So, what''s my next mission gonna be?" "Next mission? After what happened during your last mission, I''m banning you from accepting anymore work for a while." "WHAT!! But if you take my missions away from me, what will I have left!!" "Muscles." "Noooo!!!" "And put some damn clothes on, we don''t allow nudists around here." "We''re back!!" A sudden voice echoed out from the doorway. ''Magna?'' Remembering that Magna and Luck went off to a dungeon in search of a method to heal Asta''s arms, he was stunned when he turned around to look at them. ''What the fu?k!!'' Somehow managing to levitate off the ground, Magna and Luck were each covered in a aura of the exclusive magic element. "What the fu?k happened to you guys! And why do you suddenly look so cool!!" ''Wait a second! Are these fu?kers flying!!'' Turning his head to the side slowly, he saw Yami looking at him was a massive "I told you so" grin on his face. ''FUCCKK!!!'' "So dark... So, so dark... In order to heal Asta''s broken arms we delved into the depths of the dungeon and ended up getting outrageously stronger in the process." "Mana is calling me." With his hair spiked back and surrounded in a cloak of lightning, a white eyed Luck kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. "I''m sorry Asta, we managed to get stronger but we couldn''t find a way to heal your arms." "Mana is calling me." "I''m sorry we failed you." A single tear fell from Magna''s eye. "Mana is calling me." ''...Should I have gone to the dungeon instead...'' Grim wondered. Regretting that he chose to stay at the base and practice his mana control, an aura of depression landed on Grim''s shoulders. "Its cool guys." Asta reassured them. "Look, my arms are fine." He waved them. "..." "..." Just as everyone thought things were about to get weird, Magna and Luck snapped back to their normal selves. "Well why didn''t ya say so!" Magna grinned and wrapped his arm around Asta''s shoulders. "Alright!" Luck cheered. "Lets go have a fight!" "No thanks." Asta rejected. "We''re back!!" Another familiar voice sounded out from the doorway. ''Not another one.'' As if feeling his depression, Nero fluttered its wings and flew over to his shoulder. "Are you pitying me?" He asked after seeing the bird staring up at him. *Stare* "..." "..." "..." "..." "Ha...ha... I don''t know why, but for some reason I actually thought you''d answer me." "Hey Grim." Noelle called out. "You doing okay?" "Huh? Yeah I''m cool." Walking into sight, Gauche and Gordon appear in... Otaku attire. ''Nope, not even gonna ask.'' Not to long later, Charmy and Grey finally appeared with mushrooms sprouting from their heads. ''What kind of drugs have they been taking?'' Not listening to anything going on around him, Grim''s attention was caught by Yami''s next words. "So there''s this festival coming up soon and you all need to get ready." "Festival?" Asta said looking confused. Seeing this, Finral stepped up to explain. "You know how magic knight squads perform meritorious deeds they get awarded with stars right?" "Hmm? I think the wizard king said something like that before." "Right, so this festival is an event in which all the magic knight squads gather in order for the public to see who has the most stars and who has the least. Its basically a magic knight squad ranking system." "A hassle is what it is." Yami bu??ed in. "Besides, we''re always dead last anyway." ''A festival huh.'' Thinking about everything that had happened in the Witches Forest and the time period until the start of the festival, Grim had a couple of things he wanted to get done. Standing up from his seat, he drew everyone''s attention as he walked up to Yami and said. "Please fight me!"