"S-So strong!!"
Watching the battle take place from a safe distance , both Loropechka and Undine could hardly believe what they were seeing. Just six months ago he was struggling to keep up Gaja, but now he was toying with someone as strong as Vanica... Such a leap in power should not be impossible!
"N-Noelle." She called out to the Clover Royal in a shaky voice. "I'm not dreaming am I?"
'I knew he'd get stronger, but this... I never could have imagined this.'
'He reached- No! He shattered every expectation I had of him!'
"60%!!" Vanica's voice echoed out bringing the spectators back to reality.
"MORE MORE MORE!!" She laughed frantically swapping blows with the now sword wielding Grim.
Having now reached 60% of her devil power, her devil mark had spread and taken up a large portion of the right side of her face. The left side on the other hand was begining to show signs of devil mark manifestation.
"This is fun! THIS IS SO MUUCH FUUUN!!"
Watching as a large blood claw slashed down towards his head, a wild grin suddenly appeared on Grim's face as he felt like she was finally begining to reach the feet of an armourless Princia.
'Finally!'
*BOOM!!*
""GRIM!!!""
Deciding to take the hit head on, the expressions on the faces of the spectating girls morphed into that of fear as they watched him until casually raise his hand to grab hold of her descending wrist.
*BOOOM!!*
Striking enough force to create a large dust cloud, Vanica's eyes went wide upon feeling the hand clasped around her wrist.
"Not bad." He muttered as the dust beneath him settled and his hair slowly began turning white. "But-"
Grinning like a maniac, he tightened his hold on her and pulled her in close so that their faces were only a few centimetres apart.
"I want more."
Turning completely red in the face and unable to say a word due to their close proximity. Grim's flourishing elven beauty had caught the battle crazy devil host off guard.
Facing those dazzling yellow eyes of his, the once proud Vanica found herself at a loss for words and blushing immensely.
"6-65%!!"
Feeling her face heat up, devil power surged throughout her body as she broke free of his hold and jumped back.
'My heart! It's beating so fast!'
"Interesting." Megicula suddenly chimed in.
"Megicula?!"
"It seems that our contract is disrupting whatever resonance exists between me and him."
"Huh? What are you talking about?!"
"Nothing." She dismissed focusing her attention on the white haired Grim. "I thought he might have just been a strong human. But that hair, those ears and this mana... I don't think our opponent is a human at all."
"WHAAAT!!" Vanica made a shocked expression looking at Grim.
"Mmm. The human world truly is an intriguing place."
---
"Hey." Grim called interrupting their conversation.
"Huh? What?" She looked at him still digesting the fact that she wasn't fighting a human.
"Are the other members of your weird little triad as strong as you?"
"Other members? You mean big brother Dante and little Zenon? I think they're pretty relative to me- Wait...!! Why do you want to know that!"
*Shrugs*
"Well y'know what they say. A family that fights together *Grins* DIES TOGETHER!!"
"Ha...Ha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Covering her eyepatch and throwing her head back in jubilation, she was unable to contain her enjoyment of this situation as demented laughter broke from her mouth and filled the air.
"YOU'RE EVEN CRAZIER THAN I AM!" She grinned revelling in Grim's audacity.
-Now I really want to fight you at 100%!!"
Burning with anticipation, she didn't even notice that her grimoire was pulsing with the same rhythm as her heart.
-Oh?
Watching from the comfort of her own domain, Megicula found the subconscious change in Vanica's demeanour riveting to see. From battle hungry to battle hungry with sprinkles of lust, it was truly a sight to behold.
'Humans... what an amusing species you are.'
---
Breaking through her defences and attacking with a level of ferocity that eclipsed anything she was currently capable of enduring, blood spewed out of Vanica's mouth as her body rag dolled through the air.
"Hah, hah, more power, I WANT EVEN MORE POWER!!!"
Exploding out with even more of Megicula's power, the corners of her lips threatened to tear her mouth apart as she revelled in the feeling of going from 65% to 67%.
"More! SHOW ME MOOOORE!!"
Swinging his sword wildly, more and more sword wounds started decorating her body.
Watching as the blood flowed out of her body, Vanica's laughter echoed out as she felt ectasy like never before.
"I want too as well! But until we open the gates of the underworld I'll be stuck at this boring level for a while!"
'Gates of the underworld? Didn't the Dryad mention something about that?'
Not slowing his sword in the slightest, he asked- "How much power can you use right now?"
"70%"
"Then come at me!"
"No need to tell me twice!"
But while she may be a complete battle maniac. Vanica wasn't an idiot. With how the battle had been going so far, she knew that 70% wouldn't be enough to beat the monster in front of her.
"Since I won't be fighting any devils today I might as well get some excercise done while I'm here."
'Fighting devils?'
*Eyes suddenly shine*
"Did you hear that Megicula!!" She squealed like a school girl. "He wants to fight devils to!!"
***
Meanwhile at the Black Bulls base...
While the battle between the Black Bulls and the leader of the Dark Triad raged on. Despite being the only one there with any true offensive capabilities, none of Asta's attacks were able to reach Dante.
"ASTA- LOOK AT ME!!" Gauche yelled from the top of the black bull's base.
"Gauche?!"
[Anti-Magic] + [Mirror Magic] = [Union Magic: Mirrors Meteorite]
Looking into Gauche's mirror eye, multiple versions of Asta began to spawn out of thin air and rush the floating Dante.
FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH!!
'With all these super fast anti-magic attacks coming at him all at once, there's no way in hell he'll be able to dodge or block them all!'
He was right. Facing the brigade of supercharged Astas all in their powered up black forms, there was no conceiveable way for Dante to block or evade.
But whoever said he needed to?
"Fifty Percent."
*FWOOM!!*
Using 50% of his devil's power, just like his sister and younger brother, Dante's eyes turned red as his pupils transformed into slits and two protruding horns sprouted out from both sides of his head.
"Pathetic."
With his hands in pockets and a look of extreme mockery spread across his face, the space in front of Dante suddenly seemed to twist and distort as the Asta's who made contact with the weird space either vanished or had the trajectory of their charge completely diverted.
'This guy! He can warp space?!!'
Bursting out from the warped space, a look of confusion settled on Asta's face.
"What just...
-Lets have a talk."
!!!
*SWOOSH!!*
Appearing above him and placing his boot on his shoulder, Dante looked down on the confused boy with a hint of curiousity as he increased the gravity around the two of them and forced Asta down to the ground.
*BOOOM!!*
"ARGHHH!!" His face twisted in pain as his body slammed belly first onto the hard ground.
'So heavy!!'
Feeling the weighty burden of gravity crashing down on him, Dante's boot was akin to that of a mountain. Even the solid ground around him couldn't take it anymore as various cracks and fissures began to spread out before ultimately collapsing and forming a mini crater.
"That's better." Dante sighed feeling completely relaxed. "Y'know, although we belong to different ranks, since we're both devil hosts we should be able to see eye to eye."
Struggling to raise his head, but pushing through it none the less, Asta looked up at him with rage burning in his eyes.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" He spoke through grit teeth.
"Like hell I'll ever see eye to eye with someone like you!"
-Oh?
"I've seen the crap you've done to your own people! You're nothing but a monster!"
"Hmm? I haven't a clue what you're talking about. But if you're calling me evil then I'll thankyou for the compliment."
'What!'
*Smirks*
Increasing the pressure around them, he leaned forward and bent his waist slightly.
"Did you know that animals bear no malice? Its the only emotion that we humans seemed to possess that they lack. The one emotion that makes us fundamentally greater than they could ever be."
"But I shouldn't have to explain that to you. I'm sure you've felt it to haven't you?"
-Anger
-Rage
-Hatred
-Revenge
-Destruction!
"The emotions only humans are capable of feeling. Only when you unleash these emotions and submit yourself to your desires, that is when you're truly human."
"You're wrong." Asta clenched his fists and slowly pushed his body upwards.
"I know someone who does nothing but follows his desires. He's someone who wouldn't hesitate to leave his friends behind to chase after those feelings."
-And dammit does he make us worry!
-But even then *grits teeth* I know that I can rely on him. Because he's different from a guy like you! Because I've seen him use those desires to protect those around him! Because there's no way a guy like him would ever be weak enough to let those desires control him!
-That's what it means to be human! Not to resist your desires! Not to indulge in them! But to be strong enough to take hold of them and use them as a force of good!!"
"...You're a strange devil host."