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Two years now. It’s been two years since that horrible incident and they never looked back. Two years since the war had been over. Two years since he had met his father. And two years since they had moved.

Asta and Yuno decided for themselves that it was better for them to move into their original home. Or better, their birthplace.

Moving away from their friends and family had been hard for them, but it was easier too. This way, Damnatio had no right to judge Asta. And someone had to take care of the kingdom.

Since the dark triad was gone, the harsh winter was finally fading away. Every now and then the sun came out, melting away the snow and the bad memories that the siblings had left. At first no one in the kingdom was so sure if it was safe to let Asta live with them either.

Sure, he had gotten his arm back to normal and Liebe was behaving….mostly. (it took him months to get the demon to tell him his name)

The small demon had developed a habit into pranking people. Not the citizens of course. That would make them think even less of him. But sometimes Asta found himself covered in cold water.

Liebe didn’t really mean to hurt him, but he got bored easily. And this was one way of entertaining himself. He didn’t dare prank Yuno though.

“Seriously what did I do to deserve this” Asta complained, shaking the water out of his hair. He swore he would get sick because of this one day.

Liebe just snickered in the corner. “This is the only entertainment I get here.”

Asta grumbled. He had to get the other to behave during the next days. Yuno and him were getting nineteen in just two days. Meaning the whole kingdom was running around like idiots, trying to make the festival place in the city ready for them to come.

Just as Yuno had said, they took care of the kingdom together. Asta mostly took care of the military stuff, and Yuno the political things. Everything was going smoothly. But the bored demon had to ruin the mood.

“Have you ever heard of books? You should read them” the teen huffed.

The demon crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. “I have read every book in the library. There is nothing left in there to do. Why do you think I’m bored?”

Asta groaned. Of course, he had read them all. Two years were apparently enough to read the whole library. He himself couldn’t do it in that time, but it seemed like Liebe was a very fast reader.

“Then read them again or whatever, not like you know what they were all about anymore. I have things to take care of.”

Liebe followed the teen around. To prove the point of how bored he was he listed the title of every book he read, along with what they were about. On the way to the dining hall, about to have breakfast with Yuno, his face scrunched up in annoyance.

He threw the door open, walking over to sit with his cousin. Like usual, Liebe joined them.

“Okay, I get it. You have a perfect memory. But do you really have to scare the whole staff of the palace, or drown me in water every day?”

With a huff, Asta flopped down in his seat. Yuno raised an eyebrow at him. He was used to them bickering at each other, but usually they stopped even before entering the room. It was something they only shared with each other. Like little brothers.

He was amused by it though. Asta hadn’t changed a bit during the years. Starting a fight as soon as he could, trying to be right all the time.

“I told you I have nothing better to do” the demon grumbled, resting his cheek in his hand.

“We have to find something for you to do. This can’t go on like this” Asta angrily shoveled food onto his plate.

This wasn’t how they could show people that he wasn’t bad. If he continued to behave like a child, they would get more suspicious. And then they would start demands. To send the demon away again. Which meant he had to spend the rest of his life inside the Grimoire again.

“I’m not interested in many things” Liebe retorted.

“Well what did you do before you got stuck in the Grimoire?” the ash-blond teen raise an eyebrow.

Ah, his time in the underworld. Something he never told Asta either. The things that happened to the weaker demons in the underworld. This is what you got for being weak. Demons didn’t really know joy or fun in the way humans knew it. Demons saw these things in hurting each other.

But when he had entered to human world the first thing that caught his eyes was the nature. The color in the world and the peace around him. No pain and no one to mock him.

Just him, the birds and the trees that were shaking in the wind.

“Liebe?”

“Huh?” it happened again. He spaced out again. It seemed to happen every time when he thought of that time.

Asta sighed. “At least do me the favor and behave when Noelle and the others come” he smiled weakly.

“Sure” Liebe mumbled, stuffing another cookie in his mouth. He loved sweets, there was no denying it.

When he wasn’t annoying Asta he was found munching on sweets. No matter what. Cookies, Muffins, or other stuff.

Demons didn’t really need to eat, but that didn’t stop him from showing them down his throat. Sometimes even stealing some when the bakers and cooks in the kitchen weren’t looking.

Asta had noticed it too. These were the only things the demon would eat. No bread or meat. Just sweets. He didn’t mind it at all, and he knew Yuno didn’t either.

Which gave him a pretty good idea. He just had to get one of the bakers. Maybe he could leave Liebe alone for a few moments.

And he did just that. After breakfast, Asta found Emma, the head baker of the kitchen. She was a kind young woman that liked to try new things. Most of them ended up being good, but she had to try them all by herself.

And when he asked her for a favor she smiled. “Of course. What can I do for you, your majesty?”

The teen still didn’t like the title, but he had to live with it.

“You are the only one here that isn’t afraid of Liebe. He loves sweets. Think he can try some of your recipes?”

Emma’s eyes lit up in delight. Indeed, she wasn’t afraid of the demon. She thought that he was rather cute. The way he curiously looked at everything he didn’t know. And how he looked through the window of the kitchen to look if no one was there, stealing some cookies again.

She often let them sit on display so he would find them easily. She wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what he had been doing. Maybe he was just too shy to ask.

Emma nodded eagerly. “Yes of course.”

Asta laughed. “Good. He’s outside somewhere. Go nuts. And whatever he likes most, make those for our birthday” with that he left the woman alone.

Emma ran out right away. He could watch her talking to the demon. He was looking surprised that she was even talking to him. But his eyes lightened up when she began to explain. Grabbing his hands, Emma dragged him with her.

Asta grinned. That would keep him occupied for the day. Which meant he could go back to work.

In fact, it kept him occupied for some time. Enough for their friends to come visit for their birthday. Just one day until their birthday. The maids were running around the castle, trying to prepare everything.

To Asta and Yuno though, it wasn’t much of a deal. It was just another day in their life. Sure, on some level it was important to them. But that level only concerned themselves and the family they had at the church.

Sadly, they couldn’t visit. Father had sent a letter that Sister Lilly had gotten sick, so they wouldn’t make it. Though they would come when she felt better. They weren’t mad.

Soon enough, everyone else began to come. Noelle came with the whole Black Bulls squad. Mimosa brought the Golden Dawn.

And that was basically it. Noelle didn’t bring her siblings. They were still embarrassed that the two of them were royals. Mostly Solid and Nebra.

Mimosa wanted to bring her cousins, but they had to much to do, except for Mereoleona. She came along. And Kirsch was to embarrassing for her.

And now they were sitting at the large table in the main hall. Chatting and laughing while the maids took care of everything. Liebe was sitting quietly beside Asta, as always. But he wouldn’t let the demon ruin the mood today.

He nudged him in the ribs, if he owned any, making Liebe yelp in surprise.

“What was that for?” he hissed.

Asta grinned. “Cheer up a little, will you? Don’t look so glum.”

Liebe huffed. “We’ve talked about this. I don’t fit in with your society.”

“Only if you don’t want to”

“I don’t”

“But you do”

Liebe looked over at Noelle. She was smiling like usual. The others seemed to notice their conversation too because everyone else was smiling as well.

“We are an odd squad. Made out of idiots and maniacs. In Gauche’s case, even criminals. You fit perfectly with us” the royal smiled.

Liebe looked around the room at everyone. He was surprised, really, he was. But he should’ve seen it coming. Those idiots were exactly where he belonged. And the biggest idiot, the one that got his Grimoire, was his home.

Mimosa and the members of the Golden Dawn were smiling as well. Even those, who once only cared about their status in the kingdom, seemed to accept him.

“You guys are odd” he snickered.

“Yeah, we are!” Luck grinned.

Liebe rolled his eyes. He was about to make a remark when a plate of cookies was put down in front of him. The demon looked to the side. Emma was smiling down at him. She had gotten him his favorites again. The ones with tree different kinds of chocolate. White, milk, and dark.

He quickly glared at Asta. “That was you, right?”

The teen snickered. “Maybe” he teased.

Liebe grumbled something before he began to munch on his cookies. The others watched in amusement. They never would’ve thought that a demon would be sitting there like a child, not even interested in them. Well, they didn’t even think demons existed for a long time.

Mereoleona laughed loudly. “You’re an odd ball yourself. We gotta fight sometime.”

“Oh, oh. Me too” Luck grinned.

“Oh boy” Mimosa sighed.

“As long as I don’t have to wear the stupid robe” Liebe muttered.

“Deal with it. You’re stuck with us now” Yami boomed.

Yuno forced himself not to laugh. He had seen Asta and Liebe spar many times. They were rough and yet careful with each other. And they always left a mess in the forest. He didn’t want to know what would happen if the demon didn’t hold back.

He could live like this. Yes, Asta could live like this. With his friends and family around him. Maybe he wasn’t at home like he was before, but it was fine. He still had Yuno with him, and sometimes, that was all he needed.

This was how it was supposed to stay. This was how he wanted things to stay. Peaceful and with no worries. At least it was, until he went to sleep.

He and Yuno didn’t share a room the way they did back in their childhood. At the church. No, they both had their own room with a large bed.

Only Liebe stayed in his room. Well, during the night he insisted on staying in the Grimoire. He said it was quieter in there, and Asta was snoring to loud for his liking. The teen couldn’t argue with that.

He was sleeping peacefully until he felt something disturbing in his sleep. Unconsciously, Asta scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. This feeling was slowly waking him up, until he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

With his eyes still closed, he sighed. He didn’t know what could be disturbing his senses. He cracked his eyes open. The moon was shining high in the sky. Meaning, everyone was still asleep and whatever it was, it wasn’t coming from anyone in the castle.

He’d be surprised if it came from one of the others that were staying for the night. Noelle always had a peaceful sleep. It couldn’t be Yuno either. He hadn’t had nightmare’s since they were ten.

With an annoyed groan, he turned away from the window, burying his head in the pillows. Maybe it was just Liebe thinking too much again. He did that a lot. And he had the habit of doing it during the night.

So yeah, he put it under that thought. Liebe being annoying once again. And the demon was angry at him when he thought too much. Moody bastard.

He tried to fall back asleep again, but this nagging feeling just wouldn’t go away. And that’s when he finally noticed that it wasn’t a something disturbing him, but a someone.

“Happy birthday son”

His eyes shot open. Oh no. No no no. This wasn’t happening. Asta jumped up from the bed, quickly moving towards his Grimoire. The teen considered to call for his friends. But he supposed he could deal with this on his own.

On the other end of the room, leaning again the wall casually, Dante watched with amusement.

“You’re supposed to be dead” he hissed. Asta deeply tried to keep the fear out of his voice.

Dante was supposed to be dead. Along with his siblings. And if he was still alive then maybe the others were too. It would mean that Yuno and the others….

A quick glance towards the door gave his intentions away though.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m the only one here” the older man assured.  Asta didn’t believe him though. If he got into his room so easily it meant that others could’ve gotten into the castle too.

The bigger question was though, how he was still alive. When he left Clover kingdom with Yuno, he was told that the Zogratis siblings would be executed. The only way he saw out of this was if someone betrayed the kingdom and helped them escape.

But they would’ve told them, right? They wouldn’t have kept quiet about this. Not about something as important as this. If he survived the night, Asta swore to himself to kill Damnatio for it. It had been his job to make sure the siblings were executed.

Maybe it was just Dante though. Asta couldn’t be sure.

“How did you even get in here?” he glared at the other man.

“Oh, I have an old friend. A spatial mage. The rest is self-explained” he chuckled.

Asta could’ve cursed. Of course, it had been a spatial mage. The only way to get somewhere without being noticed. Unconsciously, he had noticed something, but he wouldn’t have been fast enough to prevent the other from entering the castle.

The good thing was though, that Dante had limited options now. Without Lucifero’s power he could do little to nothing to hurt him. Asta knew he had body magic, but he hadn’t used it often. He would always fight with the power of the devil.

But with the help of a spatial mage, Asta couldn’t force the other to stay until the others came. Even with his swords he couldn’t use them endlessly. At some point the other would escape. So, the only thing he could do was wait for an answer.

“Why did you come here? I’d think you’d be smarter than to let me know of your presence” he said.

“Why my boy!” Dante said with glee, throwing his hands out to the side.

A portal opened above them. Asta prepared for anything. For Dante’s siblings to jump out, for that spatial mage to jump out. Maybe even a devil jumping out of the portal.

Well, someone did come out of the portal. But not the person he expected.

“Isn’t a father allowed to bring his son a birthday gift?” he smiled.

He knew him. He knew that person very well. The person that fell out of the portal, landing on the carpet harshly. He had raised him after all.

Asta’s breath got stuck in his throat, panic rising in his chest. Eyes widening until they couldn’t anymore. He was frozen in place unsure of what to do. His thoughts were racing, unable to grasp a thought for more than a second.

Through the portal fell Father Orsi. A wound in his chest, blood pooling onto the floor and drenching the carpet. His whole body was covered in wounds, but the one in his chest was bigger. It didn’t go through his whole body, but it was still very deep.

The teen could only stare down at the man, iris shaking. He was torn between throwing himself onto Dante or Father.

“I had to thank him for taking care of you and keeping you from me, didn’t I?”

Asta could hear the smirk in his voice, even with his eyes fixed on Orsi. He wasn’t even sure if the man was still alive. If he was, then thank god. But if he wasn’t…..

“He didn’t do anything!!” Asta screamed. “He didn’t even know about this!!”

The teen could feel the tears burning in his eyes but refused to let them fall in front of the other man. He would let everything out when he was gone. Then he could scream and cry all he wanted.

“They all have played their part in this. Have fun with your present” another portal opened on the wall.

This time, in his frustration, Asta did take one of his swords out of his Grimoire, throwing it at the wall. But even before it could hit the stone it had closed, with Dante gone.

The large sword landed in the stone wall, cracks forming along it. But he couldn’t care less.

The teen finally regained all of his senses. He collapsed in front of Orsi. He finally let his tears run down freely, laying his head on the old man’s chest. Hand clenching beside his head. He turned his head towards the face of the other, his right check covered in blood.

Orsi’s face was unmoving. He didn’t seem to be in pain though. It still tore more sobs from his throat.

At this time, Liebe finally woke up. He got out of the Grimoire and was about to yell at Asta for waking him up when he found him on the ground.

Liebe didn’t understand much about emotions. But this one he could understand. Yet he had no idea how to comfort the other and found himself believing that he wasn’t the right person for this.

So instead, he tore the door to the main hall open, screaming down the halls for the others to come. It took only seconds for the footsteps to be heard running down the hall.

Everyone quickly crowded in the entrance. Mimosa was covering her mouth, Noelle staring wide eyed. The others had similar reactions. Even Mereoleona looked emotional.

The only face hidden was Yuno’s. It was a surprise that he entered last. He was trying to get through to his cousin but was stopped by Finral.

“I don’t know if you should see this” he muttered.

“I don’t care if I should! Liebe literally screamed for us to come here! Get out of my way” he hissed.

Finral sighed, letting the other have a look at what was going on.

When Yuno saw the situation though, his reaction was similar to Asta’s. He numbly walked over, collapsing beside his cousin.

“Father?” he whispered.

Noelle moved closer to sit beside Asta. She was going to pull him into a hug but was pushed away. She understood though. This was had for both of them.

None of them had ever seen Asta cry before. This was a right reserved for Yuno only. But this was different.

Noelle bit her lip. With shaking hands, she checked for a pulse. She prayed that she would find it. She prayed that the old man still had some time left. Because she knew just how important it was for both of her friends. Noelle herself didn’t know this man very good, but with the stories she had heard from Asta, he was more than just a caretaker for them.

“Mimosa” she gasped.

The Vermillion woman ran over, sitting down on the opposite side of where the three of them were sitting, granting her enough space. She too, checked for a pulse. She gasped as well.

“Someone get my Grimoire!” she yelled at the crowd in the entrance.

“Got it!” Yami yelled, running to get the flower mages Grimoire.

“We need more than just one healer. His wounds are deep. I can only do so much” Mimosa warned.

Yuno looked over at the others, trying to stay as calm as he could with his father dying in front of him.

“Get every healer in the castle. NOW!” He yelled.

While everyone moved away, Noelle pried the ash-blond teen away from the bleeding man. He was still crying, blood on his face and clothes. She still couldn’t bring him to look away.

“Asta, what happened?” she asked as gently as she could.

The teen wiped his eyes. He wished he didn’t have to talk about it. But the others had to know now. If he kept it a secret things could turn out way worse.

“Dante happened” he whispered. 

Beside him, Yuno felt his eyes widening. “But he’s supposed to be dead.”

“That’s what I said.” Asta muttered.

Yami returned with Mimosa’s Grimoire, quickly throwing it over to the young woman. She flipped through her pages and stopped at the princes healing flower dress. The green light illuminated the room.

The eyes of the Vermillion woman roamed over the injured body beneath her. She could tell that he was in a bad condition. His wounds were deep, and he had lost a lot of blood already. She wasn’t even sure if he would make it. Not even with all the other healers helping.

She didn’t have the guts to say it out loud though. She wasn’t able to tell the two boys about it. How could she? How could she tell him that he would die? That nothing was left to save him.

Mimosa bit her lip, ignoring those thoughts.

As soon as the other healers arrived, Yuno forced Asta away from the old man, making room for them. They sat down on Asta’s bed, blood still sticking to his face.

When Noelle noticed, she grabbed one of the cloths from the nightstand, wetting it with her magic. She held it out to him without getting any response. His eyes were still fixed on Orsi. He didn’t even dare to look away for a second.

Noelle sighed, rubbing the blood away herself. Something else happened, she knew it. Sure, Orsi was like a father to both of them but he was reacting much stronger then Yuno. And she was sure that it wasn’t just the fact that he generally showed more emotion.

Her eyes flickered to Mimosa’s for a second. She looked concentrated and yet distracted. Maybe she was thinking the same thing. Mimosa was stressed, more than ever.

“We should move him into the medical wing” Mimosa whispered to the other healers, who agreed.

With a stretcher, they gentle maneuvered the injured man out of the room. Most of the healers were walking beside them, continuing with their magic.

Everyone knew why. It was just to make sure that Asta and Yuno wouldn’t be in the room if the man really did die. To protect them from what could happen. And if they moved him out of sight, it meant they were preparing for the worst.

Asta wanted to run after them but was held back by Liebe. The demon had a surprisingly strong grip. Asta himself couldn’t get out of it right now. In other moments it wouldn’t be a problem. But right now, he was still hurt and unable to muster all of his strength.

“Liebe let go. I need to-“

“You need nothing. Trust me this once when I say this: it is better for you to not be in there now” he glanced over at Yuno. “both of you.”

“You speak from experience” Mereoleona noticed.

“Maybe I am, but that is not important now” he hissed.

He made the mistake of looking when it happened. He was there when it happened. Right in front of her. It caused him to hate his own kind even more. The reason why this stupid anti-magic even manifested. But he would not allow the kid to make the same mistake.

“It is. What do I even know about you?” the ash blond teen asked, still trying to rip his arm away.

Liebe huffed. “Almost nothing. Maybe I’ll tell you another time. Right now, it is more important that you listen for once.”

Asta thought about it for a moment. He really wanted to be there right now. Especially since he knew the reason. But he nodded instead, making the demon let go of his arm.

“I hate it, but he’s right. The question is: why is Dante still alive and how did he get in here? And how did he know about father?” Yuno grumbled.

Asta flinched. “About the ‘being alive’ part, I don’t know. But he said he has an old friend who is a spatial mage. And father……”

The teen took a deep breath, trying to steel himself. “I think he’s mad at him. Because he raised us, me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. How is any of this father’s fault?” Yuno hissed.

“That guy is insane. Don’t think you know his intentions” Yami said.

“Go back to bed everyone. We can’t do anything right now. That guy is no fool. He won’t attack a second time in one day. Our guards are up now. Tomorrow we’ll discuss things” Mereoleona said, turning to walk out of the door.

As everyone walked out to go back to their own rooms, Asta turned to his closet. He took out some new clothes, throwing the bloodied ones in a basket. He didn’t want to sleep like this if he was going to sleep at all.

He didn’t notice Yuno still standing in the room, not moving. Liebe had gone back to sleep as well.

“Don’t you want to go back to bed?” Asta asked, throwing the shirt over his head.

The other shook his head. “I think we both know that we won’t be able to sleep alone now.”

Asta huffed, laying down in his bed again. It would be big enough for both of them anyways. So, he made room for the other.

Yuno was right. He wouldn’t be able to sleep alone tonight. Not after what just happened. He curled closer towards his cousin.

“This is my fault” he whispered. He could feel the tears burning in his eyes again.

“It’s not. None of us saw this coming” Yuno whispered back.

“I need to blame someone” the teen smiled weakly.

“Then blame him. Blame those who were supposed to execute him. None of this is your fault. You and I only seem to be the target of everything.”

Asta hummed. Maybe. Life seemed to hate both of them sometimes. Him more than Yuno, but still.

It took hours until he fell asleep again. He wasn’t even aware that he had fallen asleep again until he saw the sun shining in the sky. It was clear, no clouds. Usually, he would take such a day to train until the sun went down again, but not today.

Today, he took a quick shower, dressing himself and running towards the infirmary. Yuno was already gone when he stood up. Probably trying to get his mind off of this. Liebe though, Liebe followed him when he left the room.

“I don’t know if I like this” the demon said.

“What? Me going in there and not listening to you?” he grumbled.

“Yes, that. You don’t know what’s going on in there. You’ve never dealt with such a loss before” a worried look followed.

Asta huffed. “And you have?”

“Yes”

The teen halted, looking back at the demon. He was following him like a shadow, stopping when he did. And for the first time since he actually saw him, he looked worried.

“I can take it” Asta was mostly saying it to convince himself. He wasn’t sure how he would react, if Orsi really did die last night.

“You can’t. I know you can’t. I went through something just like this and look how I turned out. Fifteen years stuck in a Grimoire. So angry at my own kind that a new form of magic came to life.”

“You’ve never been this open” Asta observed.

“Then maybe it’s time I do. Look, the only reason I can walk in your world is because I have no magic, just like you. You and I are the only beings in both worlds that are free to enter and leave those realms. I did leave mine. A human took care of me for years and died because of me. She sealed me in that stupid Grimoire” Liebe crossed his arms. He tried to suppress the memories that were trying to crawl back into his consciousness.

“What does that have to do with me?” the teen raised an eyebrow.

“What I’m trying to say is: if the old man really is dead you need to control yourself. Unlike me, you will have people being there for you. Use it” the demon advised.

Asta eyed his partner. He didn’t know all about the demon, but he knew that he wouldn’t lie about something like this. So he nodded.

With a deep breath, he threw the door to the infirmary open. Many of the healers looked over in surprise. But quickly averted their eyes when they saw who it was. It made his stomach drop. They never acted like this around him. Never.

“Mimosa!” he called.

The young Vermillion woman ran out of a different room. She was pale with rings under her eyes. She looked like she had been up all night. She didn’t even have the time to change out of her pajamas.

“Asta” she panted.

“Mimosa please tell me..” he trailed off.

“I’m sorry” she smiled sadly.

And his world stopped. This couldn’t be it. That man had raised both him and Yuno. He couldn’t be dead. This couldn’t be the end.

“We really tried everything, but he had already lost so much blood. His wounds were deep” she explained.

“No Mimosa! Please tell me this is a joke” he begged.

She shook her head. “But I can assure you that his pain was less when he passed. The healing took most of his pain away. I know this doesn’t help but…” she nibbled on her thumb.

He had to bite his own lip. He couldn’t make a scene here. Not with all the other people around him.

“It’s not your fault. You’re right. You did what you could” he whispered.

Mimosa took his hand, leading him outside. She didn’t want him to see the old man like this. Liebe was waiting outside the door, leaning against the wall. He had hoped for the kid’s sake that the man survived. But when he saw the other’s face and the way Mimosa was leading him outside, he knew that he didn’t.

To him it didn’t seen like the kid was even there anymore. He was quiet. Something he wasn’t used to. He was never quiet. Not even in his sleep. Mimosa sat down with him on a bench a few feet away from the door.

“I already told Yuno” she said gently. “He’s preparing a trip to Clover. He wants to speak with Damnatio. To see what went wrong.”

Asta only nodded numbly. And this is what Liebe saw coming. Why he didn’t want the other to go in there. But at some point, he would have to face the truth. It didn’t matter what he wanted. The only thing that mattered now was, that he and his friends were there for him. He would make sure that he wouldn’t be alone like he had been all those years ago.

Liebe wasn’t good with emotions, but this was something he understood. The loss of someone that they loved. And even if he himself had only seen the father of the church two or three times the demon found himself liking the old man.

Mimosa went back inside. Now the two of them were left alone. A few years ago, he would’ve said something like: I told you so. But now things were different between them.

“Emotions aren’t my thing” the demon started. “But I will still be there if you need to talk.”

The teen smiled. Things really have changed between them. So much more than both of them could understand. They were almost as close as him and Yuno. He shook his head, standing up.

“Right now, we need to get to Clover. There is a lot we have to talk about with them. “

So here they were, sitting at a large table with Damnatio.

“You know very well why we are here” Yuno said in a strict tone.

“Indeed, I do. You have found out that Dante Zogratis escaped then. I am surprised though why it took so long” Damnatio said patiently.

“What are you talking about?” Asta asked.

“Well, he has escaped the day he was about to be executed. His siblings though didn’t have that luck.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Asta hissed.

Damnatio stirred his tea, not even fazed by the teen’s outburst. He looked fairly interested in the situation.

“I did not see any reason to inform you. He has no power over your kingdom anymore does he? And the demons have been vanquished as well. What threat could he be?”

“What threat? That guy still has allies. A spatial mage too!” Yuno tried to keep his calm.

“Oh? That would explain how he escaped. Though I still don’t know how you know of his presence” Damnatio raised an eyebrow.

“A few days ago, he used the help of the spatial mage and broke into our home” Asta mumbled.

 “Surprising. One would think that he would stay hidden somewhere to be safe” the older mage was surprised for once.

“I don’t care about the ‘why’. I care about the fact that you didn’t tell us. We were the ones that brought him down. To think that he would go against us first is only logical” Yuno said.

Damnatio hummed. “Yes, maybe. Since I don’t want the next war knocking on our door, I will give you assistance. Some of the magic knights will help you find him. If you decide to end him then, I don’t care. But I do assure you that this time, we will be more careful.”

And this was it. This was all they got from him Assistance. Nothing more. In reality, they knew that Damnatio didn’t care about this at all. But he knew very well that he wouldn’t win a war against them. After all it had been mostly them that stopped the siblings.

They could live with it though.

Asta sat at his desk, trying to figure out what Dante was really planning. He had been doing nothing else since the funeral. The kids at the church had cried much more than he himself. After that, he left, not looking back.

This was his fault, and he was going to fix it.

But no matter what he did, he saw nothing that fit. Nothing that helped him find out what he was doing. Or where he even was. Like he came and left, leaving no single clue.

The magic knights were checking the whole kingdom. Checking if anyone had seen Dante. But no one came back with positive results.

This was a game, he realized. A game in which he was the player. The player that had to find the message. But he had no idea what the message was. Dante had left him with nothing. The only thing he saw was the portal of the spatial mage. And even if he knew that the portals of different spatial mages looked different, he didn’t know who this one belonged to.

“You’re thinking to much.”

The teen looked up from his desk to find Liebe sitting in the chair in front of it. As always, he was munching on cookies.

“I need to figure this out” he mumbled, looking back at his desk.

“Figure what out?” the demon stuffed another cookie in his mouth.

“Whatever he has left me with. It’s here somewhere I know it. Why now? Why did he wait two years? And how did he even know about father?”

“Sheesh. Slow down kid. There is nothing to find out. He knew you were taken away after birth, the rest is easy to find out. The waiting though? I don’t know. He probably wanted everyone to think that he was gone. But you should really stop this” Liebe pointed at the tons of paper on his desk.

All of them were useless scribbles he did. Hints he had thought he had found. Only to turn into nonsense.

“But I-“

“But nothing. You gotta calm down. You’ve been in here for weeks now. If he really did have something planed then he would’ve done something by now. All he wanted to do was scare you and show you that he could still hurt you. And he’s right if you keep doing this” the demon rolled his eyes.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Nothing! Do nothing. Show him that you are not scared of him. He’ll come by himself” Liebe shrugged.

“Nothing?” Asta raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, nothing. That guy is more insane than most of the demons I’ve encountered. His siblings are dead, and he is unable to make a new contract with demons. The only thing he wants is payback.”

Asta hummed. Yes, that did sound right. Yuno and him had been their downfall, along with Noelle. But to him it was more effective to hurt both of them.

It really seemed to be the only thing left for him.

“Also” the demon started, eating another cookie. “You might want to check your senses.”

“Huh?”

So he did. And when he searched for anything that wasn’t normal. He couldn’t feel where it came from, but Liebe was right. Something was off. He stood up, turning around in the room to find the anomaly.

“Where is it? Where?” he whispered to himself.

It wasn’t in his room. It wasn’t really near him. Looking out of the window didn’t help either. Outside everything was normal.

“Liebe, where is it?” he asked out loud.

The demon shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel that something is different.”

The presence was jumping in places. It seemed to be right beside him, the next second it wasn’t. Left and right, sometimes even above.

“The spatial mage” he concluded. “Liebe come” he ran out of the room. The demon following without asking.

He didn’t come far though. In the halls, servants were lying around, bleeding from various wounds. None of them were lethal, as far as he could tell.

“Your majesty!” a servant called.

Asta turned towards him. He was running over in panic. He himself wasn’t hurt yet.

“What happened?”

“Portals are opening now and then. A man stepping through and disappearing into another. Whenever he appears, several of the others get hurt” he explained in a hurry.

“Where’s Yuno?”

“I don’t know.”

Asta cursed. Of course, he was coming now. Now, when he was so distracted.

“Gather the healers. Every injured person is to be moved to the infirmary” he ordered.

The servant bowed and got moving.

Asta ran over to Yuno’s room. His office. He had to be alright. He was strong enough to defend himself. Without even bothering to knock, Asta threw the door open. Yuno was sitting in his chair, reading some documents. He looked up in surprise.

“Asta?”

The teen inhaled deeply. It was fine. Yuno was fine.

“He’s here” he said.

Yuno instantly stood up, abandoning everything he was doing. “Where?”

“I don’t know. The spatial mage is helping him. I can’t track him down.”

“Then search for the other. If the spatial mage is transporting him around, he can’t be far away. Search for the other unknown presence” Yuno instructed.

“Yeah, yeah. I can do that” the teen nodded, closing his eyes. Concentrating on the one Ki he wasn’t familiar with. He knew how Dante’s felt. So, he just had to sort out the one he didn’t know.

It was….

“Liebe!”

“Got it!”

Asta jumped out of the window, activating his black form to fly down into the garden. Yuno followed soon, using his own magic.

The stranger seemed to notice it rather quickly. He dropped his spells and was about to run away when he was stopped by two swords at his throat.

“Now listen up. The next portal you open will lead here” Asta hissed.

The spatial mage nodded, scared. Asta moved his swords away just a few inches, allowing the mage to use his magic again. And he did open a portal that led Dante only a few feet away from them. Guards came running along.

“Get him out of here” Yuno mumbled, shoving the spatial mage towards them.

Dante looked surprised at the outcome of the portal. Though he put his amused smirk on just as quickly.

“Oh, well done boy. Didn’t think you had the guts” he chuckled.

Asta raised his sword. One would be enough for now. “Good that you don’t know me.”

“I don’t do I? How did you like the gift?”

And this was the last mistake he would ever make. Before he knew it, Dante found himself on the ground with Asta above him. Sword raised.

“And now? Body magic, remember? That won’t kill me” he was to sure of himself.

“That was the mistake I made last time. Cutting through you. But if I do this..:”

The blade went down, right in his stomach. The wide blade was cutting from his abdomen to his ribs.

“If I let it like this until you bleed out, what then? No magic for you.”

And he did leave it like this. Long enough until he saw that satisfying thing. The light dying in his eyes until there was nothing left. The teen pulled the sword out, letting it glide back into the Grimoire.

The teen was panting. Maybe even on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Asta”

He turned around. He hated him, yes, but it had still been his father. He found himself hugged by Yuno and even Liebe. It was fine now. It would be fine now.

A few days later everything was back to normal. The magic knights had gone back home, and the servants were all healed. They didn’t have anything fatal.

At breakfast, Asta and Liebe were bickering at each other again. Yuno didn’t even bother to ask what it was about this time.

“Oi, Yuno” the other hummed.

“We should invite the others over again. Just to talk. They usually only come for out birthday” he grinned.

“You’ve seen everyone just a few days ago” he chuckled.

Asta pouted. “Does that matter?”

“Yeah, get them over. Red-head makes great cookies” Liebe nodded.

“Mimosa? Since when does she bring them?” Asta asked.

“Ah, forgot to say that. Not like I’m ever leaving some for you” the demon snickered.

“Hey, no fair!” the ash-blond complained.

Yuno smiled.

Yes, it could stay like this.