" I didn't expect you to visit again.. and in this state atleast."
"What can I say? Went to overboard on training, Now will you get this done?"
After almost shredding his mana nerves to shreds, Asta was found by magna who came to invite him for a hang out.
Carried back to Silo's place, Asta was forced to sit still and be given treatment after a big scolding by Hadal.
It took three whole hours for his body to begin moving like normal again but his mana nerves will take another day and so to recover.
As Asta and Magna left the store again, Magna turned to asta and said, "Wanna go watch some duels and grab some snacks along the way?"
"Duel? Didn't they had another week or so before the opening for the colosseum?"
"Well pretty sure, the teacher decided to cut some time after the recent accidents but who am I to care? You coming or not?"
Asta smiled as he and magna dapped up each other and made their way to the colosseum.
The colosseum was made on the very centeral area of the academy grounds right beside the third year student campus.
they rode on Magna's new customized broom, which looks like a multi exhaust bike to the point it's a miracle it hasn't gotten burned yet.
"You sure love these pipes don't you? I get that you like flames but you will become a fireball at this rate." Asta says as he wipes the sweat of his forehead.
Magna despite being drenched in sweat, acted as if it doesn't matter just to keep his pride, "You know it is better to be cool than lame right" he said.
"Cool? This looks more suicidal to me, Even Charmy's cloud was better then this."
The bike broom wobbles as Magna almost lost his cool for a second, he turns At Asta and screams, "Take that back! This baby is better than anything and everything."
"In your dreams, I saw luck had much better version of your broom, it was even more stable and faster."
The imaginary ground under Magna almost crumbled as his dreams of again being the cool one of the group were destroyed again.
"I don't feel like going anymore, you drive." Magna said in a depressed expression as he stood up on the flying brooms and sat in the back.
He pushes Asta towards the handle and brought out a bottle of soda to curb his depression.
The end result of such actions? Magna's self-esteem dropped even further as Asta drove his bike better than him and did sick tricks he couldn't do himself.
"I wanna go home." Laying down on the ground in a puddle of tears, Magna resents reality.
Shaking his head in pity, Asta hoisted Magna on his shoulder and begins walking towards the giant stadium like colosseum after parking the broom.
Despite being just opened, the stadium area was quite crowded but not enough to cause problems, Asta bought snacks for himself and the depressed Magna and booked front seats for two.
As they sit in the seats, Magna eat the snacks to ignore the sadness in him, until the match finally begin.
"Since the time has come, let's begin the first duel of day, Garde luinin from class T third year and Unos fero from Class Y second year."
Two people came out in the arena from opposite sides, one having a four leafed grimoire and the other having a curved scimitar alongside a two leafed grimoire.
"OH! I have heard about that guy called Unos, apparently he is a playboy going around stealing people's girlfriends. Who do you think will win?" Magna asked Asta.
Asta ponders and analysed their stances and postures for a second and came to a conclusion, "The one with the sword, wanna bet on it?"
" But I am almost broke.."
Asta had no words to describe the situation, He knew Magna had a habit of gambling from his years with captain Yami but he couldn't help but shake his head.
He sighs and hands Magna a small shiny coin and magna's eyes almost popped out.
"A CRYSTAL COIN!? WHERE DID YOU GET ONE? "
" I got few of them for helping against the demon a week or so ago, Try to gamble with it and I am doubling your training."
"Sure thing, you can trust me for this one."
Deep down Asta knew, Magna will probably show the coin to Yami and both will go gambling together but still decided to give it to him.
' Better to give him a reason firsthand before I double his training difficulty anyway, forgive me Magna.'
Leaving the small talk to the side, They both stared at the fighters down below, as soon as the battle begins the swordsman was the first to charge.
The guy named Unos showed no fear and quickly flipped through his grimoire and casted a spell.
The sword passed right through him as if he didn't exist at all, the swordsman however didn't panic and quickly casted a spell himself.
A grey wisp of light quickly moved along the scimitar's edge as it ignites in a white flame, Asta saw the Unos guy just smile in confidence and tried to take the guy's other attack head on as well.
A big mistake as the blade connected and left a cut across his chest, gritting through the pain Unos lifted his foot and jumped away from his challenger.
A few small portal like things were created all around them as transparent crows flew out in flicks and begins attacking Garde while Unos retreats further.
Weaving and cutting through the flock, the swordsman carried on with his offense like a wolf hunting a sheep.
Magna looks at the fight in confusion and turns to the rune expert Asta for a explanation.
" It is similar to Sever or whatever it was called that the creepy looking captain of mantis squad used, it is burning away anything it touches including Mana and turning it into heat. "
"Doesn't that mean it can cut through anything?"
"No.. only the flame is hitting them, not the sword and it ain't got enough heat to burn through everything."
Magna nods in understanding as he again turns to the fight and tries to pick up anything in their movements.
However in Asta's eyes, the movement were nothing special, he has seen far better fighting style in the memories of the demon frontlines.
The fight continues as one after another, More and more ethereal animals came out and came after garde who just killed them again and again.
If garde has been a pure swordsmen then he could do nothing but sit around until he got defeated but his magic have him a much needed advantage.
Evident from the expression and sweat on Unos's face the fight is reaching it's end, just when Asta felt the fight was over Unis bought out a small pendant from his pocket.
A surge of mana entered his body as a smile creeped onto his face again, the ground crumbled as a creature resembling a desert worm ripped through the ground.
Garde had no time to react as he was swallowed whole and the worm disappeared into the ground again.
"He killed him? Isn't this against the rules? it's always these spoon fed little sh**s that win because of their wealth." Magna said with fury as looks at the cowardly bastard laughing down in the arena.
The nearby people look at him and shake their heads at his naivety.
Suddenly Asta burst out laughing which confused Magna a lot, Asta turns to Magna with a glint of satisfaction on his face.
"Since rules have been broken, That guy can go serious as well, now this will be something worth watching" Asta said, leaving the nearby people baffled and questioning.
Suddenly a tremor came as the ground beneath Unos rose and erupted in a fountain of flames, Garde with his blade in hand came at him from underground.
Before the ether mage could react, The blade cut one of his hands and left a seared wound on it. The flames follow up and consumes them both in its embrace, leaving the audiance completely dumbfounded.
The two figures now fell together, The overconfident Unos had the curved edge of the sword impaled right through his head while the swordsman slowly rose to his feet in victory.
The audiance were on pure disbelief except for one fat guy who was dancing around in happiness, having won ten times his bet made him forget both his dignity and pride as he ripped open his shirt in happiness.
"THIS SCUM DARED!"
A loud roar echoes throughout the colosseum as a cloaked figure flew at high speed and crashed into the winner of the fight.
Garde flew away like a ragdoll and crashed into one of the walls, the figure then follows up and grabs him by the neck.
"You were supposed to die by the young master's hands you scum, it was a mistake letting him fight you." The figure who was a grey haired old man in a butler suit said with a murderous tone.
"I will make sure you don't survi-"
"Oi Oldman, you better let go of him."
Jumping down from his seat, Asta walks towards the Oldman with a calm expression, he showed niether fear nor panic but just pure confidence.
"Listen kid, i don't know who you are but don't try to poke you nose in someone's business or you will pay for it."
"Pay? By whom? You sure as hell don't look like you can do anything for me."
The nerve on Oldman's forehead pops up in anger as he turns to Asta, he stares directly into his eyes as his fist makes a cracking noise.
Leaning forward to match asta's height, the Oldman glares at him with a ice cold expression and relentless bloodlust.
"Do you know who you are messing with? The Fero family will make your life a living hell if you dare oppuse them you peasant scum."
"The Fero family? The same one who ran away from the demon battlefield with a internal war as a excuse a century ago?"
Asta's almost non audible words sent a chill down the Oldman's spine as his eyes open wide.
He slowly begins backing away he lets go of the Garde, Garde looked at Asta while gasping for air and fell unconscious.
Asta came closer to the old man, put his arm on his shoulder and whispered only one sentence, " Tell them fools, The guardian king will come take his debts soon."
Picking up the Unconscious Garde, Asta left while the Oldman ran away like a terrified cat, he didn't even bother to pick the corpse of his so called young master.
*****
Opening his eyes in exhaustion, Garde looks around to find himself on a white bed while being covered in plaster.
Unable to move anything beside his eyes, he looks around to find the room similar to the infirmary and on the side table is a small note under a lamp.
"Didn't that butler try to kill me? Why am I here?" He asked himself in confusion.
A sound of footsteps echoes as the door opens, "So you finally woke up.. it was a pain in the A$$ to guard this place from that guy's minions."
A green haired girl with her hands on the hips glares at Garde who seems like a helpless puppy in front of her.
He opens his mouth with some effort and asks her, "Lily... Who helped me? I don't remember having anybody as my backer or anything."
"The first year's ranker, His name was Asta. He told me to read you that note first after you wake up."
Lily walked closer and lifted the note and begins reading.
"Three days later at the southern waterfall, the guardian king will wait for the Luinin knight... What sort of encrypted crap is this?"
Her uncaring eye slowly turns to Garde and she notices it, a spark good enough to lead someone to madness.
"Three days it is then.. I will be there King Jassen." He said as feeling nostalgia washes over him.
"Who in hell is Jassen?" The nostalgic feeling was crushed the next moment by the garbage talking sense of lily.