*cough*
Asta slowly descended, Goliath shrinking gradually until it was near his feet as Asta's wings faded away.
He landed on Goliath, huffing and puffing as he took deep breaths, hiding his exhaustion and pain under a facade of fake toughness.
"Was that really necessary?", Yubin came from the side, holding a small bottle that was passed to Asta as a drink.
Asta took the potion, gulping it down in one sip as he tried to maintain his tough front, knowing very well that he has already used all his ki and mana.
"If I let him see me like this, he won't believe a word I say."
"So you blasted him with a strike containing mana over 5th level? He would have died!"
Yubin couldn't help but try to scold Asta but deep down it knew that someone like garde won't die to something like that.
Asta immediately shut Yubin up, muting him while slowly falling to the ground, put his swords back into the grimoire and begins walking towards the lake he blasted Garde into.
Fifteen minutes, that's the time it took for Asta to reach the lake. The lake which used to have a small lifted terrain was now had only a small rock in the middle, a small rock on which Garde lay with his limbs sprawled out lifelessly.
Asta could see another person beside Garde, a girl who also wore a cloak, feeding garde some sort of medicine while glaring at Asta to stay away.
(Asta) "This is a problem... He has a yandere girlfriend."
(Yubin) "So what do we do now? Wait for her to attack?"
(Asta) "What else can we do? ,*Sat down on a broken tree trunk*,I don't have the mana to fight back anyway."
(Yubin) "Why don't we run then? That would be easier."
Asta looked at Yubin, staring as if it was a idiot and just silently waited on the log as he watched Garde eventually wake up and looks around in confusion.
Asta couldn't hear what they were saying but he could already see what they were talking about from the expression on their faces.
"The girl is warning him, what a nuisance." Asta grumbled, his gaze stuck on the girl, "She can be annoyance if we don't do something."
Yubin didn't comment this time and left the scene to secretly spy on the two like a fly, only to came back a few moments later and says "She is asking him to leave and not believe a fraud like you, she might just ruin our plans at this rate."
Asta stood up, hostility building in his heart as he used some of his recovered power to use Goliath and started going towards the Duo.
"Look at that! That guy for sure is not some descendant of Jassen, and even if he was... Is it worth risking your life because of some stupid oath!?"
Smack
Garde slapped Lily across the face, tears flooding down his eyes as he lifted himself and looked at her, "Never doubt a Knight's loyalty." Were the only words he said before turning towards Asta who was coming to them.
Lily looked at Garde, a look of disbelief on her face as she backed away, slowly turned away from him and then jumped away onto her broom and left the scene with a murderous gaze.
As she was leaving, Lily looked at Asta, her gaze like piercing thorns as she made a 'You are dead when I see you' gesture and flew away with turning back again.
Asta however just ignored it as a hollow warning from a heartbroken girl and landed near Garde.
"You should not have slapped her," Asta said bluntly as if pitying Garde, " I might just have a stalker now."
Garde looked down for a second, wiped away his tears and rose his head to gaze at Asta, " I am sure she won't go that far, but we have bigger things to discuss for now."
The two nod at eachother, both getting onto Goliath which expended to size of a bike, giving enough space for the two to stand as they flew to the town and away from the destruction they have just caused.
********
"So you want me to believe you're King Jassen? You don't even look like him!" Garde screamed at Asta.
The duo were now sitting in Asta's room, devouring snacks Asta bought for them, while together making plans for what they had to do next.
Asta looked garde, hesitated for a second and then ate his food in 10 seconds and turned to Garde again with a stoic face.
(Asta) "Was that beating not enough for you? Do you think a regular first year peasant from somewhere in the mountains to wipe the floor with you?"
(Garde) "You did not wipe the floor with me!! I just let you win."
(Asta) "Say that to the rock you crushed under your body, pretty sure it has a crater of your shape." *Looks up while placing his fingers on the chin*
(Garde) "You!! *Deep breaths* Show me proof.. pure physical proof."
Asta didn't even spend a second and pulled out the machina grimoire from his anti-magic grimoire, sending Garde into a confused state.
(Garde) " *Utterly stupified* A grimoire?, Inside a grimoire?"
Smack , Asta smacked Garde's head with the grimoire, bringing him back to reality and gave it to him to see for himself.
"Moving silver cogs, a gem made border... And a seal symbol of the dwarfs and the red dragon– Avelius"
Garde flipped the grimoire left and right, comparing it to the description he had learnt back in the family, from the biggest of symbols to the smallest of details.
He muttered constantly as if he had memorized the entire description to the point of obsession which worried Asta greatly.
"You sure he is trustable? He looks the guy who would sell his clothes for autograph." Yubin whispers silently from behind Asta's ears.
Asta wanted to say something but couldn't find a word he could say without insulting Garde so he just shut up and gestures for Yubin to run.
Garde turned towards Asta, Sparks in his eyes as he looked a cultist meeting his god for the first time.
It was too late to run away, Garde has already locked onto Yubin and in one smooth quick motion, grabbed it from near the window.
"I have waited.. for this for so... llooonng" Garde said while stuttering as slowly tilted his neck and glared at Asta with obsession clearly present in his eyes.
Garde lunged, heading straight towards Asta only to be blocked as the door of the room which was between them opened up and two people came in.
"Stay away from him you freak!"
Mimosa yells as she delivers a full force kick to Garde's stomach and sent him flying through the window.
She then turns to Asta who looked traumatized after seeing the new side of Garde, completely stunned in his place like a statue.
Mimosa and Sol who was behind Mimosa came into the room and grabbed onto Asta and hugged him like a teddy bear.
Asta was still stunned, frozen still and mind blanked with no thoughts in his head as he couldn't even bring himself to say any words and only sat there in silence.
" I– , What the hell are you two doing!?"
It was only after a few seconds that Asta finally finished processing the situation and came back to his mind and found himself between the two girls who refused to let go of him.
" We have learned our lesson."
"Now we won't move until you tell us everything."
The demanded to Asta, their expression determined as they pinned him down and hugged him even tighter, to the point he eventually couldn't breathe and begins struggling.
" *Gasp* GET OFF ME FIRST YOU TWO!!"
Asta screamed, gasping for air as he pulled himself away from the clutches of the two girls and created distance between him and then.
He coughs, his metal like bones creaking like rusted or jammed doors as he slowly turned himself around and layed down on the floor while pointing the Goliath at the two, warning them to stay away.
'HELP ME!' A voice enters Asta's mind, a plea for help from Yubin that screamed at Asta to help him which Asta did by recalling him back to the grimoire.
Boom
The next second, the inn wall crumbled as a maddened Garde slowly rose to his feets as his body swayed like a tree, from left to right while he looked at Asta.
"Where did you go my ki–"
Garde's words were interrupted, stopped in his mouth as two fists slammed into his stomach.
"You bastard!"
"You ruined out confession!"
Now Asta just sat there on the floor, watching in terror as Mimosa and Sol gave Garde the most devious Combo attack he had seen in his life.
Garde swayed, going back and forth between the two girls as if he was a punching bag being passed among the two, recieving a beating all over his body.
It took some time but after five full damn minutes, Garde finally escaped the two as he fell down the hole in the wall, his body swollen in every place as he fainted.
"Ast–" Mimosa called to Asta, only to find him gone from the room without even a hint of his presence left in Room.
He had luckily escaped during the beating the two girls gave to Garde but will his luck stay the same or will he be caught?
These were the only thoughts in Asta's mind as he ran with his grimoires in hand, heading straight into the forest.