(Note:- since the past few chapters have been a bit more of group focused. I am turning the style a little more focused onto Asta.)
"Urgh... " A subtle groan left Asta's mouth as he slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at the three wizard kings carrying him, and asked them. "Where am I? "
"Somewhere safe... For now." Jester replies, his feeble hands struggling to hold the Demon slayer sword that weighed more than his entire body. " You okay now, brat? I really need you to pick this thing up! "
... A brief pause before Asta felt something come back up his stomach. The pain of his muscles screaming right into his head, turned his expression into one of endurable agony.
But being the selfless punk he was, he jumped out Princia's grip. He landed on his feet, his entire body shaking like pressure cooker just from the light four feet landing.
"Thanks for carrying me. I should hav— *looks at Princia's pale face* HOLY HELL!! What happened to you!?!"
" She was carrying you and the sword. " Jester replies on Princia's behalf, " For about an hour."
The reply explained the situation. It was hard for Asta to imagine the amount the willpower it took, to carry a blade that siphoned your mana like a bat sucking blood. It must have felt like a literal hell.
Then as if to prove his worries true, Asta watched in horror as Princia collapsed onto him like a tree log, crushing his already Weakened body beneath her and the full plate armor she wore.
Then as if to continue the comedy, Jester moved to help but,
Slip
The super skinny wizard king tripped on the sword he was dragging, falling onto Asta as well like a pile of dry wood.
Edward pitifully looked at them from the side, shaking his head is disappointment and said, "Disgraceful. Truly Disgraceful." Then hesitantly pulled them away from each other as the only one with mana left in his body.
It took a minute and two before everyone was laying side by side, all either unconscious or in extreme pain. (back pain for Edward cause he is old)
In the end, it was Asta who first stood up. His body in dire need of recovering as each movement came with "Ow!" or a "AcK!" From his mouth.
" I need to recover." He thought, "...But how? "
He began racking his brains as best as he could, thinking of a bunch of possible solutions but each was as risky as other.
He could try to convert his somewhat recovered anti-magic to mana and heal using his devil heart, but without the control of a wizard king, he might just lose it like others in the group.
Second feasible option was to use Anti-magic as a substitute but hasn't really tried it before and was too risky.
"Third way it is then. *takes a deep breath*... Hiyap!"
Asta grabs Demon slayer, infusing every bit of his anti-magic into it like a storage. Then he began pulling minimals amounts out with excessive care, guiding it to his heart.
The anti-magic flowed through Asta's blood, eventually reaching his heart where he willed it to stop. This was the third way– converting Anti-magic into mana right within the heart.
"Anti-magic is just chaotic mana after all. I just have to calm it down, just not let it destroy my nerves like before." Asta thought to himself while being bathed in his own sweat.
The process of removing a attribute from his mana was a tedious process for Asta. It required massive amount of mental effort to control the way his body gathered and produced mana passively, like turning a heavy lever.
He could assign it to one mana attribute easily, but, that would mean risking the strange city siphoning off his mana. Currently, he was keeping that same lever on a tilt, not letting it fall, not letting stand on itself.
The anti-magic was devoured and used for recovery as soon as it was converted. The process felt like watching a begineer trying to flip a bottle, doing the same thing over, and over, and over with his efficiency getting better over time.
Drip.... Tap
A trail of green blood flows down Asta's mouth, a nose bleed following it as his body began to break down.
He had put too much mental pressure onto his brain. His ki running dryer than ever. Asta, himself could feel the damage, it worsened over time while benefits shrunk as well.
Eventually he stopped, halting just when the damage was no longer worth the benefits. He opened his eyes, stood up and flexed his muscles.
" *cracks knuckles * So Good! It feels amazing! Just like a hot spring bath after work out! " Asta looks down and apologetically sticks out his tongue, "My bad. I forgot you guys were here.'
" Ye ye whatever," Jester says as he extends his hand," help us up already. The oldman is heavy as hell."
Edward ignores the provocation and stands up by himself, leaving only the fainted Princia on the floor while he looks at Asta. "You better carry her now, I reckon she won't be waking up any time soon."
"I will... Anyway, How much time passed since I fainted?"
"About 2 hours, including your meditation just now."
Asta thought that it wasn't much of a big sleep he got. However that's when he noticed a certain someone missing from the group.
"Where is Conrad?"
____________
Meanwhile in a chamber deep within the egg like structure, a 15 feet tall giant statue slowly opens its eyes into a narrow look.
"So you finally arrived. Conrad."
The statue looks at the person glaring at it with hostility, nonchalantly watching him with a uncaring gaze that screamed underestimation and pity.
"I didn't expect you to leave that little group of yours behind. After all, " The statue says as it's mouth curls up into a grin, "You are the only one unaffected by the engine."
"Say what you will. I only demand answers." Conrad emotionlessly states, " Who are you? Why are you here? And... *hundreds of keylocks appear in the air* Why do you have her face!?"
The face Conrad was referring to was obviously his lover's, a face that was currently sitting in place of the statue's.
However despite being threatened, the giant statue didn't move an inch. Instead, it reverted back to it's original face- a femine face with a blunt chin, a pair of eyes made of sapphires and a sharp nose alongside metal hair that split from the forehead.
Soon, the statue stood up from its throne, it's gigantic sized body instantly vanishing with a "peng" Noise.
"Why are you in such a hurry? It will be easier if I just get the side work done before our conversation, right?" A voice came from behind Conrad, followed by the appearance of a shadow that vanished as soon as the words ended.
The statue was teleporting, traveling through the timeless realm of the void as it made it's way to Asta's group from within the dark emptiness.
It appeared behind them, an aura of angel and a golden halo accompanying it as it arrived.
Asta who was carrying Princia, Jester who was lagging behind with noddle like dangling arms and Edward who was pridefully hiding his back pain.
The group didn't even have time to react as massive amounts of spacial mana soaked them, teleporting each of them to a seperate place, leaving only Asta there.
"Huh?" Asta utters a single word. His body instantly feeling much lighter and spacious as his surroundings vanished. "What's this?...an Illusion?"
"Not in the slightest."
Slam!.... Skreech.
"Who are you?! What did you do!?" Asta said while raising his sword at the angle at the statue. He was briefly stunned by the sight he saw, finding the person quite similar to beings he hated down to his bones. "A paladin?"
The Statue's smile brightens on the comment, it's hands reaching out as it grabbed Demon slayer, "you are the right direction, kid. Just a little lower."
Then as if to show superiority, the statue pumps absurd amounts of mana into the demon slayer till the Anti-magic failed to keep up. The black colour fades, replaced by a white which baffled the statue a little.
"Amazing! To imagine such a thing was right under my nose all this time!" The statue spoke as it's tone grew more alive than before.
Asta didn't even notice as he was grabbed, his vision just a shade of blur as he was dragged through hundreds of walls that collapsed under the statue's touch.
When he finally stopped, Asta found himself in a empty chamber with a golden pulsing sphere in the distance. He also saw Conrad, his face as speechless as his own as the winds fluttered his cloak high.
"Asta?"
"Conrad!?"
Clap clap
Asta and Conrad together turn towards the clapping noise to find the Statue looking at the two of them.
"Now now, Make yourselves comfortable. I am sure you two have a lot of questions... So, how about I answer them first?"