*BOOM!!*
Kicking off the floor with enough force to break ground and leave a deep rooted crater behind, Asta flashed through the air with a ludicrous speed that surpassed that of his fight with Ladros.
*BANG!!*
Not backing down in the slightest, Grim copied Asta's movements as he also charged his friend.
Clashing their blades together, the impact from the connection caused a powerful shockwave to shake the land as violent winds started blowing causing the hair on everyone's head to rise.
"H-Holy crap!"
Compared to when Asta fought Ladros, after healing his previous injuries, the current power of Asta actually surpassed his past self.
*CRACK!!*
Hearing that sound, Grim's eyes went wide as the Beast swords shattered and he was pushed back.
After clashing head on with him, Grim discovered that not only was Asta faster than before, but his physical abilities had also been enhanced to the point that a single swing had enough force to shatter his swords.
"Tch!!" Slowing down his momentum by digging he heels into the ground, Grim used [Breath of Flames] to explode the area between the ground and his soles to give him an explosive boost in speed as he shot towards the charging Asta.
[Breath of Flames: 1st Form: Unknowing Fire]
Clad in his orange aura and combined with his [Breath of the Beast] base power, Grim shot across the ground burning everything that stood in his path as he and Asta prepared to clash once more. But before the two of them did so, Grim switched magic attributes again and used [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] moments before their blades connected to boost himself up in the air before changing to [Breath of Mist].
[8 Layered Mist]
Unleashing a flurry of numerous arc shaped mist attacks, Grim watched as the one winged Asta took to the air and either dodged or deflected every attack with the Demon Slayer sword.
Seeing Asta's rapid accession and knowing that Grim couldn't fly, worry gripped the hearts of Vanessa and the rest as they saw Asta's blade centimetres away from hitting Grim. But just then a look of shock covered both theirs and the Witch Queen's faces as Grim somehow managed to move backwards mid air allowing the Demon Slayer sword to pass in front of his face before he delivered a [Breath of the Beast] enhance power kick to Asta's chest sending him sprawling into the distance.
"He flies now!!" Noelle gasped.
"Amazing, to think he'd so much control over his mana that he could levitate. He truly is a being loved by mana." Watching the battle from the ground view, the Witch Queen couldn't help but marvel at Grim's capabilities as a mage.
And just like they had said, Grim was floating in the air without the use of a broom or spell.
*BOOM!!*
Not wasting time, Grim switched to [Breath of Wind] to make himself swifter as he shot towards the distant Asta.
Stabilizing himself in the air, Asta's pupil-less eyes stared at the approaching Grim and prepared to use [Black Meteorite] as he shot towards the green clad figure.
"Its over." The Queen smiled.
Closing in on one another again, Asta prepared to execute [Black Meteorite] once more but was surprised when Grim did something unexpected. Instead of clashing head on, Grim switched to [Breath of Water] and used [Flowing Dance] to beautifully weave through the slash and deliver several bloody slashes on his body.
"Oh?" Surprised by the sudden occurrence, the Witch Queen couldn't help but raise her brows. From what she saw from Asta's fight with Ladros, she knew that his battle senses were incredible as it seemed like he was able to see through all of Ladros's attacks before he could even make them. But this, this didn't make sense. While she knew Grim was strong from his fight with Fana and the Salamander, never in her wildest dreams did she think that he was able to combat her new sword.
[Flowing Dance]
[Crazy Cutting]
Switching between these two breath styles in rapid succession of each other, the precision of strikes and the power in each blow slowly increased as he started getting used to aerial combat and begun to dominate the fight.
'He's actually improving...'
Forget his potential, forget his mana reserves, forget his ability to fly, the fact that he was visually improving in front of her eyes was enough of a shock to the witch queen that her inner desires started... leaking out.
*BANG!!*
*BANG!!*
*BANG!!*
*BANG!!*
Beating down on Asta with [Crazy Cutting], every time his swords were on the brink of shattering Grim cast them away and materialized new ones to take their place. With his absurd amount of mana within him, this wasn't really a problem and the longer he did it the faster he got at materializing them.
Protecting himself with the Demon Slayer sword, Asta slowly found himself falling into a disadvantageous position as Grim was above him and ruthlessly bore down on him with a relentless amount of slashes.
'Dammit! I know that the situation is really bad and all that... But why... WHY CAN'T I STOP SMILING!!'
[Breath of Flames - 9th Form: Rengoku]
With the increased control of his mana, Grim raised the burning fire sword high above his head before slashing down. But unlike before, Grim gathered the raging power of the [Rengoku] spell and held it within the blade causing it to shine brightly as the moment the sword hit the flat side of the Demon Slayer sword he unleashed the devastating power of [Rengoku] and unlike what would normally happen where a spell could be deflected off the blade, Grim kept feeding the spell power and watched as the beam of concentrated fire pushed against the black sword until Asta was forced down from the sky and back to the earth.
With enough force to shake the ground, Asta's back slammed violently hard into the dirt creating a mini crater in the process and causing a large dust cloud to cover the Bitch Queen and everyone else in the area.
Looking at his cracked swords, Grim frowned before using the mana he normally used to materialize new swords to repair his current ones.
'Oh? If I clash with Asta again then I guess I can just repair my swords before they break.'
Thinking about his first clash with black form Asta, Grim realized that even though his swords were physical, every time his swords came into contact with the Asta's Demon Slayer, the magic surrounding the blades would be nullified. But if he was fast enough, then wouldn't it be possible for him to repair the blades faster than the anti-magic could negate it? If so, then he'd have no problem fighting Asta with pure swordsmanship.
Smiling to himself, he completely forgot that he was in the middle of a battle until Asta's black figure burst from the ground and charged back into the sky.
Grinning at the fact that he was still capable of fighting back, Grim used [Dust Whirlwind Cutter] to shoot down and meet him head on.
Feeling the wind whip against his face, the blood in his body started to become restless as every sensation he had sharpened.
*BANG!!*
Clashing their swords together mid air, a powerful shockwave that ripped the very trees from their roots echoed out as the two locked swords together.
'Its working!! ITS REALLY WORKING!!'
Using his magic to repair his swords faster than the anti-magic could negate the effects, Grim found himself fighting evenly with Asta in a head on battle. While he may not have been able to compete with him physically, his outrageous amount of mana made up for it.
So what if Asta broke his swords! He'd just fix them before they truly shattered.
*BANG!!*
*BANG!!*
*BANG!!*
Swinging their swords wildly, the sound of metal clashing against metal rung out as the two of them fought on even terms with Grim slowly gaining the advantage again.
*SWOOSH!!*
Dodging a well aimed neck strike, Grim slashed at Asta's torso and left two deep sword wounds on his body. As the fight extended, Grim learnt a very important fact. While Asta was stronger now compared to when he fought Ladros (physically) his consciousness was no longer then causing him to make simple mistakes that a conscious Asta wouldn't.
Angered by this fact, his strikes become a lot more viscous as he intended to completely crush Asta.
[Crazy Cutting]
Not holding back in the slightest, Asta was forced to defend as a flurry of deadly sword strikes bore down on him.
"H-He's winning!!" Noelle gasped from the ground.
"No." Vanessa's lips trembled. "He's killing him."
Realizing what would happen if this continued any further, Vanessa pleaded with the Witch Queen to end this.
"End this? Its just beginning."
*BANG!!*
Having her dress flutter from the shockwave produced by their sword clashes, the Witch Queen turned to look at Vanessa.
"Vanessa will gather that which I desire and eventually she will return to the forest. That it what my divination foretold. That is why I did not stop you from leaving with that... man." She said the last part with mild disgust.
"Though I never would have thought that you return to me that child and a boy wielding anti-magic."
"I-I did this..."
"Do you not understand Vanessa? Because you are my daughter, my family, you will never escape me, you are mine Vanessa. Everything you own belongs to me, your comrades, your emotions, your power, your very being, its all mine."
"I-I don't belong to you."
"Oh?" Hearing her daughter talk about to her, the witch queen raised her eyebrow as the battle above her raged.
"You say we're family but you don't know the first thing about what that means! You know nothing of love, compassion or heart! Someone as empty as you will never understand me or the bonds I've made! So don't you dare call me your family again! The only people I call my family is the BLACK BULLS!!"
*CRASH!!*
Crashing violently into the ground for the second time, a bloody and bruised up Asta crawled his way to his feet. Seeing his ragged figure and hearing the strain in his breathing, it didn't take much for Vanessa to understand that his body was on the brink of a breakdown and that if he fought any further then there would be a good chance of him dying.
"So you couldn't even defeat him despite using your new power... What an imperfect doll you are." Seeing his pitiful body struggle to get back up, the Witch Queen sighed with annoyance. "Guess I'll have to deal with him myself, at least make yourself useful and kill some of your comrades."
'What!'
Tightening his hold on the Demon Slayer sword, the conscious-less Asta stumbled his way to the front of the crucified Noelle.
"A-Asta."
'SHIT! I won't make it in time!' Seeing what Asta was about to do, Grim shot down from the sky with as much speed as [Breath of Wind] granted him.
"Watch how those bonds of yours are so easily broken." The witch queen grinned and gave Asta the order.
"N-No- NO!!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, a violent red aura burst out from Vanessa grimoire as a small mass of red string formed and weaved itself into the shape of a cat.