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“Asta, what did you do with my meat cleaver!!!!”
“It was Liebe’s idea, honest.”
“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY MEAT CLEAVER!! I NEED MY KNIVES TO MAKE ALL THE YUMMY GOODIES TO EAT…”
***
It all started with Captain Yami’s katana. The first three swords, Slayer, Dweller and Destroyer, had all been Licht’s but the katana was a special made modern sword created outside of the grimoire (that was not yet paid off, as Captain Yami was apt to remind him). So, when Asta sent a pulse of anti-magic into the sword to defeat Dante Zogratis, what happened next was entirely unexpected- the grimoire claimed the sword and the Demon Slicer was born. It took a while to realize what this meant, given that immediately after that fight they were planning an invasion of Spade and a rescue mission to plan, but two months after the tree of Quilpoth was closed Asta was ready to test his grimoire.
“So, the plan is to buy another sword, give it anti-magic and name it Crazy Demon Demolisher, if I’m understanding correctly,” Magna said.
“Maybe not that name, but yeah,” Asta replied, entering the sword shop.
“So, what are you looking for this sword to do exactly, seems to me the ones you have are crazy powerful and can counter any magic,”
“Not sure, maybe something I can throw more easily than the dweller, something to attack at mid-range,” Asta shrugged.
“Pointy and shiny to defeat the bad guys,” Liebe said, rebalancing on Asta’s shoulder. “Anything that can draw blood.”
“Ooookay,” Magna said, looking around the store floor. “Wanna try these?” He picked up a box containing six throwing knives.
“But I don’t know how to throw knives, and do they even count as swords?”
“Push past your limits Asta, be a real man.”
“Sharp and metal, close enough for me.”
Asta sighed and examined the knives. They would give him an option to attack at a distance, true, but he’d never used blades like that before.
“May I help you gentleman,” the store clerk approached them.
“Is there a way that I can see if I can throw these before buying them,” Asta pointed at the box.
“Of course, please follow me,” he said, leading them into the backroom. When he reached the far wall, he pulled out his grimoire and said, “Wood creation magic, wooden target,” creating a bullseye for them. When he was out of the way Asta picked up the first knife and threw at the target. It hit the outer circle. The next three got no closer than the third circle.
“Need a throwing coach, Asta,” Magna said, picking up the fifth and throwing it. It hit the second circle. “Hmm… maybe these don’t have the best balance. Hey, shop keep got any other knives we can try?
”
The shopkeeper looked cross for a second than a thoughtful look came across his face as he went to the front of the store and returned with a second box full of six gleaming knives with ebony handles. “Most blades in this store are made by local smiths and then I use my wood magic to craft the handles, and as throwing knives have never been the style in clover the smiths don’t have the same knack for it that they do for swords, but these knives are made from blades from the northern mountains of Diamond where throwing knives are common, and smiths are expert at it. They will cost more, but perhaps the gentlemen would find the balance more to their liking.”
Magna eyed the price tag and his eyes bugged out. Cost more, they cost seven times as much as the ones they were practicing with.
“What is it Magna?” Asta asked.
“Pick up the knife and throw it bro,” Liebe said from his shoulder, his eyes glistening with excitement. These knives looked gorgeous, like they could stab Lucifero himself (again, but the more Lucifero got stabbed the better).
Asta looked at Magna, who nodded woozily, then threw the first knife. These knives did feel more balanced, and he hit the first circle on his first go. The next four produced two in the first circle and two bullseyes. With the last knife Liebe sent a surge of anti-magic through their mutual right arm so that it hit and disintegrated the bullseyes. All six knives then floated to the grimoire and disappeared into the new writing on the page.
“Yes, the Demon Piercer knives!!! These are excellent!” Liebe exclaimed.
“I guess we’re buying these knives then,” Asta said, then checked the price tag. He winced.
The shopkeeper, who had never witnessed anti-magic before and was flabbergasted by the disappearance of his target, quickly composed himself, and began “If you gentlemen would come to the front of the store so we can discuss financing…”
***
“Asta what did you do with my bread knife!!!!”
“Seriously, it was Liebe’s idea. He thought it was a very nice knife, good balance…”
“I KNOW IT HAS GOOD BALANCE; ALL MY KNIVES ARE THE BEST KNIVES TO CREATE THE PERFECT LITTLE GOODIES. WITHOUT MY BREADKNIFE HOW AM I TO MAKE TOAST? SANDWHICHES? HMM, ASTA HOW DO YOU ANSWER?”
***
After that Liebe was on the lookout. If their grimoire, which was originally designed for sword magic could claim knives, what else could it claim? How many weapons could he gather to defend himself? After he claimed a scimitar, Asta became careful to avoid weapons shops, but sharp metal things were everywhere. Like Noelle’s heirloom letter opener (nice little Demon Impaler, Liebe thought it was ok because Noelle had only tried to drown Asta for two weeks after that). Or the many wondrous knives in the kitchen. Today Asta was chopping wood and a new implement had caught his interest.
“That’s a good axe, isn’t it?”
“No, Liebe.”
“It’s just, when you’re cutting down magic you use a sword, but you’d never use a sword if you had an axe for woodchopping. Imagine if we had an anti-magic axe, bet we could chop down Goldyelf’s trees then.”
“Maybe, but Slayer’s always been good for that type of work before,” Asta replied. Liebe broke out in a grin because to a devil maybe meant yes, so he sent a surge through their right arm. Thus, the Demon Hacker was born.
***
“Asta, the kebab skewers, why?”
“Charmy, you know how Liebe is, they were pointy and sharp and…”
“THE KEBAB SKEWERS, FOR SKEWERING LOVELY TASTY MEAT, ASTA!! THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH, YOU AND THAT DEVIL ARE BANNED FROM THE KITCHEN AND IF I EVER, EVER, FIND OUT ANOTHER OF MY TOOLS HAS BEEN TURNED INTO AN ANTIMAGIC WEAPON ONLY YOU CAN USE…”
***
Of course, not all of the weapons in the grimoire were the result of Liebe’s covetousness, sometimes a job required adding some anti-magic into something new. Like the day Asta walked into the common room to find Vanessa backing away apologetically from Henry seated in a chair with a towel around his shoulders.
“You’ve been doing so much better sweetie, to be able to be in the same room, but it’s too much for me to cut your hair,” Vanessa reached the bar and pulled out a bottle. After that, she needed it.
“I … under…stand…Vanessa…Thank….you….for…..try…ing”
“Um, maybe I can do it?” Asta volunteered. Vanessa looked up from her glass and walked over to him, handing him her scissors.
“He wants it cut midway down the back,” she said, adding in a whisper, “I don’t think he’s ever had a haircut before, poor thing.”
So Asta approached Henry and his unruly locks, opened the scissors and prepared to cut, but the scissors didn’t cut the hair.
“Are your scissors sharp enough?”
“Seriously Asta, all my scissors are extra sharp,” Vanessa replied as Liebe said, “They look very sharp to me,” ponderously.
“May…be…its….. the…..re…in…..force…..ment….magic…too….keep….ev…er….y……thing……from….break….ing,” Henry said.
Asta nodded, Vanessa said, “Wait a minute…” and a pulse of anti-magic flowed down Asta’s arm. And that was how Henry had his first haircut and the Demon Shearer scissors were born.
***
“Kid, use your left hand for your steak knife, we’re running low.” Captain Yami said.
“But Captain Yami…”
“Don’t, your magpie of a devil keeps taking them but hasn’t made a Demon Poker fork yet, so knife in your left.”
Asta sheepishly switched his knife to his left.
“THE POP-POTATOE PEELER ASTA! THE POP-POTATOE PEELER!!!!”
“Run kid,” the captain said, as the kitchen door opened and Charmy, a foot taller and followed by her wolf, stepped out.
***
300 Year Later
Ariadne had been having a strange month. First, she had been almost mugged in an alley, then a fucking grimoire had appeared in front of her even though she had no magic and given her a letter opener that she used to stab her attacker in the gut. She’d gone home, but then when she was sleeping the devil that supposedly lived in the grimoire had contacted the Black Bulls, the last surviving magic knight squad from the time before the United Decklands had real democracy and leveling technology. A couple magic knights and a bird that turned into a woman (who was also a magic knight, maybe?) had arrived at her front door and told her she was now a magic knight too, with the power of anti-magic (wasn’t that just from the myths?). They had taken her to a dilapidated house with a roofline shaped like a bull (supposedly the work of the third immortal??? member of the black bulls after the devil and the bird lady). After that the list shouldn’t have been a shock.
“Ok, ok, say I believe you and you’re an anti-magic devil who uses a sword grimoire to partner with humans and combat evil with said anti-magic, and I’m the fifth partner you’ve chosen” she said. “Why, then are there so many knives in the grimoire?”
“They’re sharp and metal and I liked them,” Liebe shrugged.
“And the axe.”
“Best defense against plant magic.”
“The scissors?”
“Extremely useful in disarming magical items.”
“The pop-potatoe peeler?”
“Ok, that one was a mistake, Charmy almost killed Asta over it and I’ve never once used it on a mission over four partners.”
“A mistake?”
“Yeah, got permabanned from the kitchen even the washing up over that one, so you’ll never have to cook again, but I haven’t claimed quite as many things for the grimoire since.”
Ariadne sighed. Apparently, this was her life now. Two months later, she needed to use an anti-magic pop-potato peeler.