"It was a valiant effort Asta, but you're lacking in too many areas to beat me."
'If you had any long range abilities this would have been much more fun.'
Flying high above the sky with his sword still pressed against the back of Asta's neck. Both boys listened as the announcer called the match.
"You won huh." Asta sighed after hearing the results.
"Disappointed?"
"A little bit." He chuckled before showing off his usual Asta smile. "Lets go down."
"Mmm." Grim nodded.
---
"That was so cool!!"
Running over to the duo, Luck's eyes were practically sparkling.
"You both did well." Vanessa smiled.
"Mmm! You looked really cool out there!" Dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief, Mimosa praised Grim's performance while also declaring war on the other girls with her actions.
Considering that she was on Asta's team and had just lost to Grim's team, her actions were a little out of place in the eyes of everyone else.
"You did very well master." Nebra bowed modestly while also doing her best not to glare at her younger cousin.
"Urgh." Looking at her usually arrogant sister acting so docile, Noelle didn't know how to feel. That being said, she could imagine her brother's reaction.
"It was a very impressive performance indeed."
"Huh?!" Every said in union as they turned around and saw the wizard king standing there.
"WIZARD KING!!" Everyone except Grim gasped.
'Why does he keep appearing?'
Popping up from behind him with an unusual amount of energy, the captain of the Azure Deer stared at Grim and Asta with starry eyes.
Apparently their match was so spectacular that he felt his creative juices flowing and needed to release all that passion through his art.
"PLEASE ACCEPT THIS!!" Thrusting his arms out and bowing at the same time, Rill held out a painting of Grim and Asta locked in battle.
"Woah!!" Everyone covered their mouths after seeing the painting.
"How lifelike!"
"I feel like I'm re-watching the battle!!"
"Anyone else scared that it's gonna jump out at them?"
*Sniff* "Master Rill is giving away his first present." Watching the exchange between Rill, Asta and Grim take place from a distance, Rill's butler Walter couldn't help but let out a small sob of joy.
"Thanks." Grim accepted the painting. While he wasn't the biggest fan of paintings and stuff, he had to admit this was pretty good.
"Asta." A voice suddenly sounded out.
"Huh?" Turning around to face the person calling him, Asta's eyes suddenly went wide.
"Yuno..."
Smiling at his childhood friend, Yuno started teasing him over his loss at Grim's hands.
"I didn't think you'd fall short here, I guess I was expecting too much from you."
"Oh yeah!! Well just you wait!! Grim's gonna totally kick your ass and win the next match!!"
"Doubtful."
"Grrr!!"
While the two of them argued over the results of the next match, Noelle was looking at Grim with a complicated expression.
Since she was on Yuno's team it meant that she'd also be facing off against Grim in the final match. But after seeing him fight throughout the tournament, she had to admit that compared to him she was advancing at a snail's pace. This was especially the case in his fight against Asta and Langris.
Against an opponent who could ignore defence and one who negates magic, he single handily won against both of them by his lonesome. But what about her? Her biggest achievement was beating her older brother who Grim had already beaten months in advance. Could she even be proud of such an accomplishment?
'I need to get stronger!'
Clenching her fists tightly, her eyes burned with new found resolve.
[A/n: Good for her.]
Watching the next generation of magic knights fighting and getting along, Julius smiled at the sight in front of him.
'Looks like the future of this kingdom will be safe with these kids around.'
Listening to Yuno and Asta argue about who would win the next round, Grim yawned and walked over to Selena and David.
"Yo Grim!!" David waved excited over the fact that they made it to the finals.
"Thanks for believing in us." Selena smiled.
"Believing in you?"
"Yeah." David jumped in. "Y'know, leaving it up to us to destroy the crystal."
"Oh..." Being completely honest, leaving it up to them was a gamble that just so happened to pay off.
"So what's the plan for the next match?" David asked.
"Plan? Why would we need one of those? We're already in the finals."
"Eh?" Confused by what he meant, the two looked at him.
"What do you mean we don't need a plan because we're in the finals?"
"Being in the finals already guarantees us a place as royal knights. Winning or losing won't change that fact."
"Oh... I guess you're right." David said absentmindedly.
"Yep, so in this final match just do whatever you want, as long as you don't let the crystal get destroyed too quickly we'll be good."
"Oh... Okay, but what will you be doing?" Selena asked accepting that this match meant nothing to Grim.
"Me? I'm gonna raise hell."
---
-Viewing Platform-
"Who do you think will win?" Standing next to Asta, Mimosa and the others watched with anticipation.
Falling silent, Asta's eyes were trained on the figures of Grim and Yuno.
"After fighting him... I can't imagine Grim losing."
"Oh? So you think Grim will win?" The wizard king's voice suddenly rung out.
"Wizard king?"
Chuckling at their confused faces, Julius didn't explain and simply pointed at Noelle's figure.
"We might be in for a surprise."