"See you tonight."
"Well, I know how to get there," Noelle said honestly, arms crossed in pride.
Yami Sukehiro took a long drag from his cigarette, exhaling smoke toward the moonlit ceiling. "Good. Then it's time we assign some combat missions."
His tone shifted into seriousness. "Recently, groups of bandits from the Diamond Kingdom have been pouring across our borders like they were ordered to swarm the Clover Kingdom. It's gotten so bad that most squads are fully occupied. What's worse—some of their hideouts were exposed by bandits from our own country."
"Wait, what?" Noelle blinked. "Did our own bandits snitch on enemy bandits? What is this, The Clover Kingdom: Betrayal Edition?"
She chuckled despite herself. The irony was too good.
"The task of wiping them out?" Asta's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Just what I needed! Reminds me of those raptor bandits on the road to the capital. That guy alone gave me almost 20,000 points! Time to cash in again!"
Luck Voltia, electricity buzzing faintly around him—grinned with wild excitement. "So how many missions are we talking about, Captain?"
"There are three total," Yami answered. "Two are urgent. One's not."
He leaned back, pointing at the first one. "In the forest near Mobei Village, a bandit group of over 500 has taken root. They're good at hiding and hard to track. Luck, Magna—you're up."
"YES!" Luck crackled with glee.
Magna groaned. "Tch, as long as Luck doesn't try to zap me again."
Yami pointed toward the second location. "About 700 miles south of Saussy Village, near the junction of Longxi and Longbei, there's another large Diamond Kingdom bandit group. Asta, Finral—you're assigned there."
Finral visibly paled. "Captain… you do know I hate fighting, right?"
Yami waved lazily. "You're not there to fight. Just teleport Asta and provide backup. He'll handle the rest."
Noelle huffed. "Wait! Why am I not part of any mission?"
"Fine. You're going with Magna and Luck to Mobei," Yami muttered.
Noelle's face turned red. "Another mission?!" she blurted. She wouldn't dare say she wanted to go with Asta.
"Or… you can follow Finral," Yami added without looking up.
"…Okay." Noelle tried to act indifferent, though her pink eyes darted toward Asta.
Asta met her gaze and smirked. "What?"
"Nothing!" she snapped, cheeks flushed.
Yami stood up, cracking his neck. "Alright, move out. If things get ugly, push past your limits."
"Captain," Luck raised his hand, eyes still glowing. "What about the third mission?"
Asta perked up. "Yeah! That's more points, right?!"
"Whoever finishes first gets the third one," Yami said, smirking.
Luck grabbed Magna's hand. "Let's go, partner!"
"Gross…"
"Alright, let's go too!" Finral activated his Spatial Magic – Fallen Angel Gate. The trio—Asta, Noelle, and Finral—vanished in a flash of light.
Arrival at Longxi Village – Chaos in the Skies
The air above Longxi Village was thick with smoke and flying magic spells. Bandits soared overhead on enchanted broomsticks, terrorizing the villagers below.
"Clover Kingdom sure is rich," one Diamond Kingdom bandit cackled mid-air. "So many villages, so many weaklings!"
"Help! Someone, help me!" a woman cried.
"C'mon, girl. Why don't you ride the top of my broom—" sneered one, grabbing a struggling villager.
"That's it," Noelle's eyes narrowed, voice trembling with rage. "They're worse than scum."
"They're even using mid-range elemental spells in civilian zones," Finral muttered. "No self-control."
"I'll go first," Asta said.
His amber eyes glowed red as he tapped into his anti-magic zone. Though he lacked flying magic, his leg strength was monstrous. With one leap, he soared toward the bandits.
From above, a red-hooded thug blinked. "What the—someone's coming up here?!"
Noelle immediately raised her wand and summoned a torrent of water.
"Water Creation Magic – Sea Dragon's Lair!"
A protective dome of spiraling water expanded outward, shielding homes just as a fireball spell detonated above them.
"Magic Knights?!" a bandit screamed.
Their leader—a smug man in a green turban—scoffed. "Stick to the plan! We hit, we run. If Knights show up, we vanish. They can't chase all of us!"
"Got it, boss!"
But then everything went silent for a moment.
Asta had arrived.
With wind howling behind him and Demon-Slayer Sword raised, Asta cleaved through two bandits mid-air.
"Ding! You defeated a Red-Ranked First-Class Mage! +300 Points!"
"Ding! You defeated a Second-Class Low-Rank Mage! +200 Points!"
The blood sprayed in the air, evaporating in the wake of his anti-magic.
He landed on a rooftop, eyes burning. "More of you, huh? Perfect."
The Tide Turns
The remaining bandits panicked. "There's only three of them, why are we losing?!"
"Because that boy's not human," one muttered, watching Asta leap back into the air.
Finral shouted, "Asta—behind you!"
"Got it!"
With flawless teamwork, Finral opened a portal mid-air, sending Asta directly behind an enemy mid-cast.
Asta spun mid-air, blade slamming down.
"Ding! You defeated a Red-Ranked Mage! +400 Points!"
More screams filled the air. One by one, broomsticks fell from the sky like broken arrows.
Noelle's water magic surrounded the last few villagers in a shield of crashing waves.
End of the Raid
Within minutes, over 30 enemy bandits were incapacitated or killed. The rest fled, terrified.
Asta stood atop a ruined house, breathing steadily. "Not bad… but not enough."
Noelle joined him, hair slick from mana exertion. "You didn't even hesitate."
"They didn't either," Asta replied.
Finral stepped through another portal beside them, adjusting his collar. "Remind me to never make you mad, Asta."
The villagers below cheered weakly, grateful but shaken.
The bandit in the green turban hesitated only a moment before sneering. He imagined hanging the heads of Magic Knights on their banner — a bold message to both kingdoms. "Brothers!" he roared, raising his wand high, "Kill those brats! The two guys, kill them! But the girl... keep her alive. She's mine!"
"Yessir!!"
A group of bandits who had just tried to flee turned sharply, their brooms whipping around in midair. The sudden reversal caught Asta off guard for only a second before a manic grin spread across his face. His crimson eyes locked onto a nearby cluster of five bandits about 15 meters above. That distance was nothing for him—not with his speed.
"Fire Creation Magic: Twinned Flame Maidens!"
A bandit conjured two flame-shaped female figures with twisted smiles and hurled them down toward Asta. But the next instant, the ground where Asta stood was empty.
"What?! Where'd he go!?"
"Demon-Slayer Sword: Five-Fold Slash!!"
In a blur of red and silver, Asta shot through the air like a reaper. He jumped onto the broom of the flame mage, his anti-magic blade slicing clean through him. Before the body hit the ground, Asta had already launched himself to the next broom—and the next. In mere seconds, five bandits had been taken out mid-flight, their corpses spiraling down like broken puppets.
Ding! You defeated a First-Class Low-Rank Mage. +300 Points!
Ding! You defeated a Fifth-Class Mid-Rank Mage. +500 Points!
Ding! You defeated a Fourth-Class Mid-Rank Mage. +600 Points!
"I'm cashing in today!" Asta said, gripping the Demon-Slayer Sword with both hands. He'd dealt with scum before, like the Raptor Bandits on his way to the Royal Capital—but these guys? These were on a whole different level. Stronger… but still no match.
"He took down five of us in three seconds...!" one bandit gasped in horror.
"Fly higher! Get into formation and kite him! That brat can't fly!"
The green-turbaned leader barked orders, confident their air superiority would give them the upper hand. "We've got the advantage in the sky! Keep your distance and bombard him with spells!"
"Asta, hop on!" Finral called, appearing beside him on a broom conjured with his Space Magic: Fallen Angel's Wing Beat.
"Thanks!" Asta leapt up effortlessly. He wasn't the best flier, but Finral's magic made up for that.
"I'll handle maneuvering and portals. Noelle, cover us with defense and suppress their rear!"
"Understood!" Noelle nodded, her expression determined as she took her position. She summoned her Sea Dragon's Cradle, enveloping the three of them in a barrier of swirling water to repel incoming attacks.
"He's deflecting magic too?!" a bandit shrieked as one of his own spells ricocheted back toward their formation.
"This guy's a monster…!"
The bandits' plan to bombard from above was unraveling. Every fireball and wind spear they sent down either missed or got deflected by Asta's anti-magic sword or Noelle's defensive magic. Worse—some of their spells turned back and hit them instead.
"C-Captain… maybe we should fall back…" a red-hooded bandit muttered, sweat pouring down his face.
"Agreed! These three are cursed!"
"Now's our chance." Finral narrowed his eyes. "Asta, want to hit them while they regroup?"
"You bet! Get me close to that guy with the afro, I'll start from there!"
"Copy that—opening a portal behind him!"
Just as the afro-wearing bandit sensed a magical fluctuation behind him, a cold voice cut through the wind.
"You're first."
Asta lunged from the portal with terrifying speed, his Demon-Slayer Sword striking like a battering ram. The bandit's chest caved in with a sickening crunch, his broom plummeting as he lost consciousness midair.
Asta didn't wait. Using the momentum from his strike, he vaulted forward, bouncing from one broom to the next like stepping stones. Finral opened portals in rapid succession, helping Asta close the distance between each enemy like clockwork.
The sky above Longxi Village was now a battlefield—and Asta was the storm.