"So... You want a two week long vacation... on the second month of your academic first year?"
"I think so, i will either go broke or insane if I spent anymore time here for now."
Licht sighs as he hears Asta's complain, already fed with all the problems he has after the Lilith attack and now this. He raised his hand and brought out a document and a map.
"How about this? You choose a place for your vacation and do a mission in that place at the same time?" Licht said as he opened the map that showed the entire continent.
The map showed the current status between the nations, with Last hope city being the center point and a multitude of nations around it.
Asta looks at it and fell into deep thoughts. He was annoyed but it was also the most understandable conclusion with all the things the elders had been dealing with lately.
Asta looked up, matching his gaze with Licht and nods while he places his finger on the border of the continent, a kingdom known as pearl sea kingdom.
"Are you sure? The journey would be quite long you know?" Licht asks as he frowns a little, "Just the up and down on a airship will take a week."
Asta smiles, "I am sure. I also need some materials for myself from there."
"Understandable i guess," Licht nods as he said, picking a stamp from the side, "Approved."
Asta smiled in happiness as he heard the words, a feeling of joy and freedom coming to him as he lifted the document and read it.
His smile faded away instantly, replaced by a frown that looked like one of a devil. The mission in the document was last thing he expected.
-Visit the Pearl Sea kingdom royal ceremony as a guest of the academy-
"You must be kidding me right?? ... That kingdom has always had some rebellion or war going on during the ceremonies."
Asta cried out to Licht who had already left through the window at light speed, leaving a stunned Asta behind.
Asta reads the document again and notices a small clause that atleast lifted his mood a little as he exited the room in anger and mummers.
"Atleast I get paid for this."
Asta felt like he had been drafted into some war, something he wasn't very fond of but what can he do except it now? So he left, moving to his dorm for preparations.
He summoned Goliath and flew towards the dorm, cutting through the skies at high speed while holding onto the document. Suddenly he sensed someone nearby.
He looked down, greeted by the familiar sound of small explosion as Magna arrived beside him in his bike which was now looking much better than before.
"ASTA! Do you know how much I looked around for you?" He said, blocking Asta as he did so.
"Did you remodel this thing? It looks better than before.", Asta said as he jumped onto Magna's broom and laid down on the leather seats.
The two then left for the dorms while Magna asked questions after questions like a child and Asta answered occasionally.
Soon, they together arrived at the dorm's roof where Asta left Magna begin and left for his room.
********
"Are you sure you have to leave? Those two might go crazy if they find out."
"If I stay then i would be the one who will go crazy. See you two weeks later."
With a small bag of luggage in his hands and the grimoire hung at his waist, Asta walked up the stairs to the airship as he waved to Quill and the others.
With leasure filled steps he marched towards his room, a economy-level room that was given to him by Licht.
The crowd that came with him slowly begins dispersing, leaving only him in a lifeless corridor.
With his room key in hand, he looked around but before he could find it. Something peculiar happened.
The corridor shifted, twisting onto itself as cracks begin appearing left and right.
However Asta didn't bulge a inch, rather he just stood there nonchalantly.
"A illusion. A weak one but I guess I will give some points for the effort."
Humming to himself, Asta turned around and looked ahead without a single thought in his mind.
In the distance he could see a figure, a owl to be precise that slowly begins coming closer and closer until it was standing right in front of Asta.
It tilted it's head, giving Asta a side-eye before circling around him.
"You.. what are you?"
"Huh? I am a human of course."
"Human?", the owl scoffed and screeched, "if you are a human then I am angel. How can you stupid demons even lie to yourself?"
Asta was astonished and baffled. He, the guy who cursed Lucius and Astaroth for ye--
A image came back to him mind, a interaction he had with liebe a long time ago.
-flashback-
Floating in a void with nothing except his grimoire beside him, Asta was talking to liebe.
(Liebe) "Demons gain their power from emotions. Rage, envy, disgust, hatred, madness, joy and even happiness sometimes."
(Asta) "Eh? Even joy? Weren't they supposed to be only feed on evil emotions?"
(Liebe) "Feed? Demons don't feed on emotions you idiot. They convert emotions to mana."
"Huh?"
Asta was confused and looking like a confused puppy while listening to liebe.
Sighing in disappointment, lirbe continued his explanation.
(Liebe) "In the demon realm, there were a few stones that I used to read or hid behind. I remember one of them saying that except the soul, everything can created with mana or converted to mana."
(Asta) "Even muscles?"
(Liebe) "Not just muscles, even nails and teeth or something that doesn't exist yet exists at the same time."
(Asta) "This is confusing."
(Liebe) "Of course it's confusing! Or else I would just have become some god by now."
...
-flashback ends-
Having remembered the hatred that have been piling inside of him, Asta couldn't help but sigh.
He cracked his neck and turned to the owl with a somewhat annoyed gaze
"Why don't you just get lost? I ain't some demon and I got no time to waste on you." He said calmly.
The owl grew furious at the disrespect and screeched in anger.
"To think there would be a demon as cocky as you. DIE! CRYSTAL MAGIC: REFLECTIVE GRAVEYARD"
The illusion begins changing, shifting to a garden of transparent spikes that shot towards Asta.
However he didn't bother fighting back and just brought out Goliath and placed in front of him.
A black barrier formed around, as if made of black dust. Yet every spike that came closer was reduced to nothingness, leaving the owl wide-eyed.
"H-HOW!? HOW DID MY M-"
Before the owl could complete his words, the illusion collapsed due to Anti-magic and now all that remained was Asta.
Finding himself back in the corridor, he begins searching for his room again.
However far away, a owl was almost ripping away it's feathers in disbelief.