About 20 minutes before the incident with Zenon,
The Ninth later of the underworld was facing it's biggest battle in all of its existence.
There were corpses everywhere, the sky(if you could call it one) was raining blood of Devils and chopped pieces of Many Devil hearts.
And between that rain was Asta, gripping Demon-slasher in both hands as his kept throwing himself towards every Devil he saw, chopping each one he came close to.
With each passing second dozens of Devils fell, their numbers decreasing at a rate visible to then eye.
However no matter how many he killed, these Devils didn't retreat, almost as if they were nothing more than puppets.
And above all, he couldn't sense any ki or hostility from his enemies at all.
"This... Doesn't seem right. Am I even fighting Devils right now? Why are these greedy bastards going so far to sacrifice themselves. "
The wierd behavior had Asta on his toes, his mind cautiously scanning his surrounding as well as the Supreme Devils who had yet to move an inch from their spots.
The only one he could even see an expression on was Lucifero who was fighting Liebe in the opposite direction and suspiciously enough, the devils on that side were also reacting and retreating unlike the ones of his side.
Nevertheless, Asta didnt care, his only goal was to kill all the devils and absorb the so-called core.
So with a simple shift in anti-magic, Asta switched his magic type from slashing to Gravity, turning his sword into grinder that pulled everything in the vicinity towards it's edge.
It was a battle of endurance and the fatigue from using ki and Anti-magic simultaneously was constantly piling up on Asta like a ticking clock above his head.
"But that's what they want to think! "
Suddenly, Asta pulls his hand back, pointing Demon slasher's edge towards the supreme Devils as his ki and Anti-magic condensed on his sword.
This was a move he had seen many times and have even used himself. And there was no better place to use this than right now.
"Death thrust! "
BADAMM!
The moment he said those words, Asta thrusts the blade forward, creating a tunnel of gravity magic ahead, making a minature compressor that pulled the devils ahead into a single splattered wall, leaving only their hearts intact.
However he immediately followed up with Zettan, creating several afterimages in his path as his sword split every Devil heart he saw into pieces. Finally giving him the chance to arrive in front of Supreme Devils.
And he grabs it with a smile, coming into the scene with his hand already aiming at Baal's neck.
Shing-
"... Huh? "
Asta makes a puzzled face. He looks at the being standing in front of him, lifeless and hollow without a hint of mana for Anti-magic to feast on.
The Supreme Devils weren't moving, they were dead, all of them, leaving behind only the outer shell as if their insides had been sucked out of their bodies with a straw.
Megicula, Baal, lilith, Nahamah and lucifugus... All dead on their spots without the slightest resistance.
"H-How?" Asta stutters, " Just what could kil—"
A image flashes past Asta's eyes, the image of lucius haunting him as a realisation struck him.
"Astaroth... "
But then a thought popped up in his head– why was Lucifero still alive?
At that moment Asta finally realised that this was a trap, and the only thing he could do was turn his head backwards, looking towards the tree of qliphoth where two beings hovered with their chests pierced through by two skinny arms in dead silence.
"LIEBE!! "
The moment Asta noticed Liebe, his body erupted with anger. Unhesitatingly he rushed forward, forgetting all control as his Devil traits resurfaced.
However the only thing he could see right now with his rage reddened eyes was the face of the black shadow of Astaroth grinning at him.
Accelerates
"YOU BASTARD!!" Asta screamed as he pierced his blade through Astaroth's heart.
But nevertheless-
"You Lost by a single step...Devil slayer."
-It was too late.
Crunch!
The underworld shakes violently as a Explosion of mana engulfs the entirety of the ninth layer within a mini second, sending Asta flying straight into the horizon as his Anti-magic failed to fully nullify the explosion in time.
He crashes into the ground, bouncing several times over the hard rocks as his body was grinded against the gravel with no mercy.
However even then, his mind was only focused on Liebe's corpse in his hands that slowly begins breaking down into Ash.
"Li-Liebe?"
[Ding]
The panel pops up in front of Asta.
[IT'S NOT OVER YET! ]
"- Fusion magic: Nullificating Chains"
The danger sense of Asta peaked, his eyes gazing ahead while jumps back.
Slam-Slam-slam-Slam!!
He watched as hundreds of black chains bombarded his previous position, chains he couldn't sense with Magic or ki sense.
But the moment he landed backwards, he was looking at a Castle sized monster with hundreds of eyes looking at him, each filled with a different sort of emotions but united by the sole emotions of loath and disgust that they held for humans.
It looked like a slithering slime made up of horns, rocks and eyes, completely shapeless with no fixed structure at all. And with each movement it did, the monster wobbled like crazy.
"What the HECK is that!?" Asta asked Astra.
But it was the monster that spoke, "Did you already forget your enemies... *voice changes * You piece of hybrid trash!"
...
"Osersia? Dante? " Asta recognised the voices the moment he heard it, voices he had silenced himself just a few months ago.
However something didn't make sense. Osersia's soul was devoured by him that day, Devoured and turned into a trait which he spent a lot of time gaining control over.
So how could she be here? Alongside Dante who died by his hand.
And the same question was also being asked by Angelic blood hiding within Asta's veins.
But then–
Ding!
[??? Has shifted the timeline]
[Mission changed: Defeat the awakened core]
[The Contractor has issued a buff package]
"... What?" Asta says as his body begins glowing in light while the world slows around him.
He looks at the grotesque monster made up of devil flesh and then back to the panel. His head now horrifically calm for some reason becoming more clear-headed by the second.
[Trait: Mentalstabliliser obtained! ]
[Trait: EnhancedReflexes obtained]
[Tomb of Knowledge upgraded (Four clover-> Five Clover) ]
The earlier shock vanished, leaving behind a Awfully Calm Asta who tightens his grip, glaring furiously at the abomination ahead as he rises up to his feet.
[Do you wish to claim reward: Scroll of devil resurrection. (Note: Corpse needed) ]
"Redeem it."
A small parchment made of bear skin manifests from mana in Asta's hand.
"Good thing I didn't redeem until now..., " Looks at liebe, "I guess we will be fighting side by side some other time. Use scroll of Devil resurrection. "
[Command received! Time remaining: 3 hours]
Fwoosh!
The winds shift with a turn of Asta's head, breaking off his hairband to reveal his hair which had turned Black under the transformation.
He knew he could care about the fight now without any worry. So, He extends his leg forward tapping it lightly on the ground and vanishes from the abomination's vision for a split-second.
"I don't care what you are. " Asta's voice came from Abomination's shoulder, "But I hope your ready to endure the pain I will give you."
... Asta's first motto since returning:- No mercy to threats to his family.
The abomination couldn't even react as the Devil slasher's blade ran through dozens of its eyes at once, making it wince in pain.
However the one more surprised was Asta as his Attack didn't activate neither the Infinite slash of the Demon-Slasher nor the Slashing magic Atteibute he infused in it.
That's when he realised it, the being in front of him was just like him, a monster capable of using Anti-magic as well as normal magic at the same time.
Finding his attacks doing close to no damage, Asta opted for retreat.
But as he was retreating, the Abomination swung it's upper body like a whip, striking him away while it chanted dozens of spells with its hundreds of mouths.
"Gravity Reversal. "
"Typhoon blades. "
"Curse of Depravity. "
"Holy scythe. "
The gravity around Asta collapses, his momentum increasing as several gigantic wind blades crashed into his body one after another.
The curse was most useless among the attacks, its effects vanishing before it could even reach him. The holy Scythe on the other hand, pierced through his Anti-magic like butter, stabbing into his shoulder before imploding away his right arm in a explosion of light.
The pain made him groan, weakening his focus as he darted backwards from the impact, hitting several small hills in the process.
"Tch!! My attack was too shallow. "
Yet Asta didn't give a damn. His arm regenerated back within seconds as he devours the traces of light magic to Anti-magic, using it to regenerate.
He looks at the abomination, finally understanding how bad of a match up he had been against every mage he fought against.
But, The difficulty only made him smile brighter as he finally felt the familiar thrill of battle resurface in his heart.
"If magic doesn't work–", Asta looks up with a grin, "-I WILL JUST SLASH YOU TO BITS!! "
With no sense of self-preservation, Asta charged right back at the core with both his hands tightly clutching onto Devil-Slasher in excitement.
The ki surged through his body, empowering his already monstrous strength even further. Meanwhile a black Armor forms around his body, tail, wings and horns, all while his Magic attribute shifts to acceleration.
Before long he was right in front of the core, a dirty grimoire at his waist while he pulled his katana back and used Death thrust at point blank, making a giant hole through through the slimy monster with the wind pressure of his stab.
"Prepare yourself you slimy bastard! You are gonna regret every second of your remaining life from now on!! "
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The chapter might be slightly confusing but bear with it for now.