Welcome, we got some things to go through first.
- This is being rewritten.
- I changed the height of the reader. Apparently it was too short.
- Rewritten chapters have a standard form number.
- I use [Name] to refer to you, the reader.
- I don't watch the anime.
- ". . ." refers to a small time skip. "###" or "***" refer to a scene break.
[Name]'s POV
"The Magic Emperor has returned!"
"He and the other Magic Knights sent the invading army packing!"
"Two cheers for our hero, the Magic Emperor!"
"Those guys sure are loud, huh?" I questioned, standing next to Sister Lily as I listened to the sounds of the cheering that was actually heard clearly from the Capital.
Sister Lily was a nun at our church, and has been here ever since I was a kid. She's 11 years older than us. She had blue eyes and dark blue hair, and had a mole under her eye. But for some reason, she wore a skintight nun outfit.
"Well, they do have something to be happy about, right? Come on, [Name]. We need to get this laundry done," Sister Lily said, looking at the baskets of laundry we were holding.
"ONE DAY," Asta came running with a flower, immediately getting down to one knee in front of me, "I'LL BECOME MAGIC EMPEROR, AND MAKE YOU HAPPYYYY!!! SO, PLEASE MARRY MEEEE!!"
I stared at him.
Asta was shorter than others his age, and was the same age as me. His hair was spiked weirdly and an ash-blonde -almost grey or silver- color, and his eyes were green. He wore a headband around his head, and was shorter than me.
We measured his height when we turned 15. He stood at 155 cm.
While I stood at 167 cm, and Yuno stood at 172 cm.
(Plz stop asking and suggesting about heights......)
Yuno was another one at this church, the same age as me and Asta. The three of us considered our birthdays to be October 4th, since that was the day we were all left at this church as infants.
"Sorry, Asta," Sister Lily denied for me, "but [Name] is only 15, so..." Sister Lily trailed off, and Asta teetered backwards, but jumped up again.
"I'M NOT DONE YET!!"
"What?!"
"I gotta say, that's admirable, Asta. The fact you don't give up, that is."
"EXACTLY!! SO I'M NOT GIVING UP!!"
"But no."
"NUOAAAAH?! NOT YET, NOT YET!!"
"You're annoying, doing this so many times, and I don't think Yuno and the others would accept it."
"SO!?"
"Like we said..."
"LET ME ASK AGAIN!!"
Sister Lily brought out her grimoire, bashing Asta into the ground with a fist out of water. "STOP PESTERING US!!"
"Water Creation Magic : Holy Fist Of Love!"
"Oh dear..." I sighed, while Sister Lily gasped when she realized her actions.
"I'm so sorry, Asta! I used my grimoire's magic without thinking..." Even with her mumbling, Asta got up anyways, soaked in water.
"NOT YEEEEEET!!" But Asta was then blown back by a gust of wind, also drying him off.
Lo and behold, there stood Yuno, with his apathetic face set with his golden eyes and his messy black hair on his head, surrounded by the church kids.
Asta, are you causing trouble for the Sister again?" Recca, a girl with fluffy hair, asked with her hands on her hips.
"How many rejections will it take for you to get a hint?" Nash, a boy with freckles, scratched the back of his head.
"SHUT UP, BRATS!! AND YOU!! YUNO!! WHY'RE YOU GETTING IN MY WAY?!" Asta pointed at Yuno accusingly.
"Thanks, Yuno!" I called.
"Yeah," he nodded with that mumble before looking at Asta, placing a hand on his chin. "Why? You're noisy, short, restless, and immature. Basically, you have no qualities that would appeal to women, much less [Name]," Yuno said before turning to me and Sister Lily. "I'll help you."
"Thanks, Yuno!"
"STOP IGNORING MEEE!" Asta screamed.
"By the way, Asta. You and [Name] can't marry anyone yet because you're both 15," Yuno deadpanned.
"Shut up, Yuno! You... urgh... jerk! I challenge you to a fight for [Name], Yunoooo!" Asta pointed at Yuno.
"No. She isn't an item to be won, either."
Then, while Asta was playing with the other kids, Yuno helped us dry the laundry by using his magic, making it look like a whirling sphere. When they were dry, they were folded and dropped into our baskets. Apparently, it was enough to get the others' attention, as they left Asta to awe at what Yuno did.
"You're amazing, Yuno!"
"Awesome!"
"Thank you so much, Yuno!"
"It always looks so cool!"
Magic is part of everyday life here. It also helps decide what paths are available to you, and is considered everything in this world.
Asta got an axe from who-knows-where, going to chop firewood, but Yuno beat him to it. He swiped an arm down, cutting the logs into perfect quarters.
Nash sighed, deadpanning at Asta. "I still can't believe that you guys are the same age."
"WHYYYY?!" Asta shook Yuno's collar, crying comically.
Yuno slapped his hands away. "Talent and diligent effort."
Then Father Orgi came out, crying comically too. His hair was all gray now, along with his beard and mustache. He used Fire Magic, like Nash. Yuno used Wind Magic, and Sister Lily used Water Magic. I think Recca used Water Magic too. Father Orgi was the one who found me, Yuno, and Asta at the doorstep.
"Yuno and [Name] are the hopes of our church! Not only can [Name] become a Magic Knight, she can also marry into royalty and donate us money!"
"Yuno, [Name], you're really amazing!" Aruru, a girl with black hair, exclaimed.
"I'm sure it's not a farfetched dream to see you two join the Magic Knights and work directly under the Magic Emperor! Yuno-nii has Wind Magic, and you have Dark Magic!" Nash said in admiration.
Magic was fueled by the magic power we were born with, with magic power also being known as 'mana'. We lived in the Forsaken Region, meaning that we stood at the bottom, and were people that had the smallest amounts of mana in our Clover Kingdom. Because of that, we were often referred to as rats instead.
But for some reason, Yuno and I had a lot of mana. He used Wind Magic, which meant he could create and manipulate wind, while my Dark Magic meant I could control darkness, shadows, and create them. Though Dark Magic is supposed to be extremely slow because it's the opposite of the light-speed Light Magic, my Dark Magic is actually fast.
That fact didn't line up with the book I got to read about magic affinities.
I looked over my shoulder to see Asta hugging his knees, crouching on the ground as he sobbed.
"Asta, get up." I walked towards him. "We'll be getting our grimoires soon, and I bet that when you get yours, you'll be able to use magic!"
But unlike the rest of us, who have at least a miniscule of magic power to use magic, Asta has no magic at all. Or he just lacks the capacity. I don't know, but he's never been able to use magic.
"I'm sure you're right, [Name]!" Asta looked at me with a grin and happy tears. "I'll obtain the greatest grimoire, join the Magic Knights, and become Magic Emperor one day! Then I'll make you my bride, [Name]! And I'll renovate this ugly, shabby church!"
"There he goes again." Nash sighed from behind us, switching our attention to him. "Only those of noble birth, like aristocrats and royalty, have the potential to become the Magic Emperor."
"Everyone has the potential!" Asta pointed at Nash, whose back was now facing us.
"We're peasants and orphans. There's no way. And you can't even use simple magic yet, so you have zero potential. And what's more, you don't even have prospects for a job." Those words pushed Asta back. "All the townspeople make fun of you. You know that, right?"
"I'll show you one day, dang it!" And with that, Asta ran off.
"Should I..?" I looked at Sister Lily, who had a hand at the side of her face, also watching.
"Oh dear..."
"Just leave him," Yuno spoke up. "He'll be back by dinner. Don't worry about him."
"Even if he might get hurt?"
"He can fight them off, or he can use his annoying voice as a weapon of destruction." He shrugged.
"Ah, true."
. . .
Now, we were standing in a Grimoire Tower to obtain our grimoires.
We had just gotten in a moment before he started, so we made it in time.
"Welcome, young men and women," The old man, who was the owner of the Tower, said with magic to amplify his voice. "You will begin walking down a new path, starting today. I wish you Faith, Hope, and Love. I am the Master of this Grimoire Tower. We haven't had a Magic Emperor from this area..."
We ignored the murmuring around us.
"Nor have we had one achieve greatness by joining the Magic Knights. I sincerely wish that someone among you with become the Magic Emperor. I'm serious here!" He said the last sentence after a moment of silence. "Now, it is time for the awarding of the grimoires!"
And with that, grimoires of different shapes and colors started flying down, but I could hear a voice in my head. I'm not sure who the voice belonged to, though.
"Not yet."
A whisper.
"Prove yourself, first, and only then will I let you have the grimoire."
Everyone gained one, except...
"My grimoire's not coming."
Asta.
He was on his knees with his arms out, like he was preaching or something.
The master inhaled quietly before muttering in the amplifier, "Try again next year."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" While me and Asta were shocked, everyone else burst into laughter. They were all silenced, though, when a brighter glow than anyone else's came from Yuno, who had a grimoire floating in front of him.
A four-leaf... clover?
"H-Hey..."
"Four-leaf... from the legend?"
"The first Magic Emperor also received one."
"It supposedly has great power. That grimoire has good luck within it, right?!"
"He got that grimoire?"
"Crap, we were really making fun of him now..."
When we walked in earlier, the others weren't even bothering to hide their feelings about us, and were badmouthing us and looking at us like we were dirty animals.
But Yuno silenced everyone with five words, which sent them into an uproar of cheers.
"I'll become the Magic Emperor," Yuno declared, while I noticed that a grimoire came floating down to me.
I tried to grab it, but it would just fly out of the way, so I couldn't even grab it! I couldn't even see the clover in the middle, since it was like the whole thing was covered in some veil of shadows! It's MOCKING ME.
But it still caught everyone's attention, and they started murmuring.
"What's she doing?"
"That grimoire... it's pretty ugly."
"Is that even a grimoire? It looks like a cloud of dust or something."
"Yuno!" Asta called him out, and everyone looked at him. "You gotta wait! We'll catch up soon enough!" He was talking about me too.
Asta, just wait, I'm facing some technical difficulties, you'll forget this scene with my grimoire by tomorrow.
"Nice words."
I heard the same voice, though this time, she sounded more sarcastic and teasing. I'm saying 'she' because they sound like a girl.
Shut up.
"Because we're your rivals!" Asta finished, catching Yuno off-guard, while everyone started laughing again.
"Big talk from a boy who didn't even receive a grimoire!"
"She can't even touch her grimoire!"
"You, his rival? Talk about clueless!"
Yuno walked past us with his grimoire tucked under his arm, muttering, "This is ridiculous," and made his way out the door.
After that, Asta and I were just sulking off in the forest, sitting on different branches of one of the trees. Well, Asta was hanging off of a branch, upside down and holding on by his leg. My supposed grimoire was just hovering above me, floating around my head.
"Nah. He probably doesn't even remember," Asta mumbled to himself, and was silent for another moment before suddenly screaming, "LIKE HELL I'M GONNA GIVE UP HERE!!"
"What the-?"
Asta heaved himself up from the branch, and was now standing on it and yelling to the sky.
"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, FATE! I'LL GET A GRIMOIRE AND JOIN THE MAGIC KNIGHTS, EVEN IF IT TAKES ME ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO! JUST WATCH ME! I'LL BECOME THE MAGIC EMPEROR, EVEN WITH THIS SETBACK!"
His attention seemed to be caught by something, and he stared for a bit. I heard chains, and people talking.
"[Name], look..!" Asta nudged me, looking down at something.
Following his eyes, I could see Yuno having chains wrapped around him by someone else, being in front of the Grimoire Tower. His grimoire was also in the hands of that person.
"HEY!" Asta shouted before I was pushed forwards by a hand that did not feel like Asta's -this one was smaller in size and was more feminine, does not feel very solid?-, being sent and faceplanting onto the ground.
I could hear Asta landing beside me, and he probably landed better than me, since he started yelling immediately after. Wait, no, he sounds worse than me. I think he just got up faster. That doesn't excuse the fact that he rolled over me, though.
"Wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aaaait!"
Tumbling on the ground.
"AGH! SORRY, [NAME]!!"
"OW!"
Ended up rolling over me as he went.
"KGH!"
Crashed into something, probably a wall.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
He immediately jumped up to his feet, I guess.
I pushed my face off of the ground, and next to me, Asta was on his feet with a bruised and dirty face, pointing at a guy with long dark-colored hair and a scar on the left side of his face. He was holding Yuno's grimoire, and apparently he uses Chain Magic, since Yuno was bound up in chains.
"What was that for?" I mumbled to myself, standing up and wiping my face with my hands before dusting my clothes off. My assumed grimoire was floating right in my face, so I swatted it to the side so I could see what was going on in front of me.
It doesn't even look like a grimoire, it looks more like a mass of floating shadows, so I don't know if it's actually a grimoire.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? THAT GRIMOIRE BELONGS TO YUNO! THOSE THINGS ARE PRECIOUS!" Asta screamed at the thief holding Yuno's grimoire.
The thief started to laugh quietly to himself, sounding like 'keh, keh, keh' as he ran a hand through his hair, looking right at Asta.
"The outside world is a crooked place with crooked people. Actions like this are completely normal in that world. We have people paying fortunes for grimoires like this one I'm holding over here." He tossed Yuno's grimoire into the air, catching it with his hand again, showing off the clover. "There are people who'd play for personal playthings, too. The boy behind me, and that girl next to you... both of them can go for decent prices. But it looks like you'll die before you get to see that world, brat."
"Run away, you two!" Yuno shouted at us.
"There's no way I'm going to run away from this jerk!" Asta ran forwards without a plan.
"My name's Revchi. I may be a thief, but I used to be a Magic Knight. Chain Magic Revchi," the man bragged as he cast a spell with his grimoire, shooting chains towards Asta. "Mere children like you are no match for me!"
"Idiot," I muttered, holding up a hand.
Dark Magic shot out, at an unnatural speed for its slow element, intercepting the chains that were aimed at Asta and blocking them from hitting him.
"What is that magic?" The thief, Revchi, looked a bit uncomfortable, shrinking back a bit. "Dark Magic? There's no way it can be that fast without a weapon, so what is that..!?"
"Whoa... thanks, [Name]!" Asta looked over at me with a grin, only to be met with a glare.
"Don't run in with no plan." I narrowed my eyes at Asta. "You have no way to defend yourself from his attacks that can chase after you, so do you just plan to take the attacks and expect to be fine?!"
He looked very tempted to say yes.
How tempted I was to throw him through the wall he crashed into.
But no, now is not the time, I can throw him later.
"Kekekeh... Looks like I just found another item to sell." Revchi looked at me, smirking. "A strange affinity. Dark Magic with a twist! You could sell for a bit to some researchers." He fired some chains toward me, snake heads at their ends, and though I was about to defend myself from them,
"Stay away from her!"
Asta ran in front of the chains and willingly got himself hit by them.
"Chain Magic: Dance of the Pitless Viper!"
"What are you-? ASTA!"
Asta was knocked into a wall, bruised and bleeding.
I moved to run to him, but my foot hit something. Looking down, I saw a stray chain.
I would've ignored it and kept running, but the chain sprang to life and wrapped around my feet before binding my arms behind my back. Then I was yanked down, falling against the ground and tied up.
"This is nothing-!"
"Those chains will bind your magic," he called back at me, looking at me before approaching a slumped over Asta. "The chains you were hit with tell me how much magic power that person has. I was intending to see how much mana she has, but then you got in the way... and let me tell you this."
The thief placed his foot on Asta, stomping on his shoulder with his next words and shocking Asta from the realization.
"You have absolutely no magic at all!"
From here, I could see the look on Asta's face, and with that look on his face, a look that should never appear, I just wanted to close my eyes and hope it was a nightmare.
"I had no idea someone so pitiful like you existed!"
It's only a dream, a dream, it's just a dream!
"Your friends must have been making fun of you so much behind your back!"
We weren't! We never did!
"In this world, what can you do? You can't do a single thing with the way you were born! Just give up. You're a born loser!"
Be quiet, don't say anything! Just shut up!
"How long are you going to deny it?"
She said something again.
"I..." Asta's voice trembled, so quietly that I almost didn't hear it. "I... give..."
"ASTA!"
My mouth moved on its own, screaming to stop him, to not let those words leave his mouth.
Asta wasn't allowed to give up.
"I'M NOT DONE YET! GIVE THAT BACK TO YUNO!"
Asta shouldn't give up.
That wasn't part of his character.
He was supposed to be the annoying guy who never gave up, and always yelled about how he wouldn't give up.
"I'M NOT DONE!"
Especially on his dream.
"I'll... become the Magic Emperor! Then you all can have whatever you like, and I..."
And yet, here he was, giving up and letting his entire life go to waste.
"I'll prove that even poor orphans like us can do something with our lives!"
That wasn't something Asta should do, and it was something he should never do.
"Even the strongest people have one moment where they crack."
Not him, of all people.
"NOT YET!"
Watching the one with the strongest will about to give up with his will shattering, what is that supposed to mean to the rest of us with weaker wills?
"NOT YET!"
Asta can't be that mean to us.
"AND I'M STILL NOT DONE YET, YOU BASTARD!"
Because if even he is giving up, then what can others do when they have less spirit than him, less resolve, less audacity--?
"And at that time where they're about to give up, and crumbled to pieces..."
"DON'T GIVE UP!!!"
Asta's the one who gave us courage.
"They..."
Asta was always the first to move whenever me or Yuno got scared.
"Asta's not a loser."
He was always right there, beside us.
In front of us.
Surpassing us.
Asta was never really scared of anything.
And because of that, because he's always putting up such a challenge for us, because we all share the same goal-
"Me too! I'll become the Magic Emperor too!"
"... Fine! I'll be the Magic Empress!"
"They need someone to pick up their pieces, don't they?"
"-ASTA'S OUR RIVAL!"
If we can't even pick up Asta and his spirit so that he can stand again and keep trying, how are we supposed to face him?
How are we supposed to be good enough for him?
That answer is simple, obvious, even, isn't it?
We shouldn't even be allowed to stand with his back facing us.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
[Name]
Age: 15
Height: 167 cm
Birthday(the day she was found at the church): October 4
Sign: Libra
Blood Type: O
Likes: Reading, food, sleep