Chapter Text
The skull of the demon loomed over Hage Village, a fossilized monument to an ancient war. To most, it was a terrifying reminder of humanity's near-extinction. To the orphans of the church nestled beneath it, it was just shade.
The morning sun hadn't even breached the horizon, but the noise had already started.
"ONE THOUSAND AND ONE! ONE THOUSAND AND TWO! I'M NOT DONE YET! I'M GONNA BE THE WIZARD KING!"
Asta was upside down, hanging from a tree branch by his legs, doing crunches at a speed that blurred the eye. He was a ball of noise and muscle, shouting his ambitions to the empty vegetable patch.
A few yards away, Yuno was chopping wood. He didn't use an axe. With a flick of his wrist, a blade of wind sliced cleanly through a log, stacking the firewood with telekinetic precision. He looked cool, collected, and annoyingly perfect.
Father Orsi watched them from the porch, sipping his tea with a weary sigh. "Every morning. Every single morning with the yelling."
"Where's Eira?" Sister Lily asked, walking out with a basket of laundry. She scanned the yard. "She usually naps on the roof until breakfast."
"Gone," Asta shouted mid-crunch. "She wasn't in her bed when I woke up! Maybe she got kidnapped! I'll save her!"
"If someone kidnapped Eira," Yuno said flatly, splitting another log, "I'd pray for the kidnapper."
As if summoned by the mention of her name, the bushes at the edge of the forest rustled. The heavy, rhythmic sound of something being dragged scraped against the dirt—thud, drag. Thud, drag.
Asta flipped down from the tree. Yuno lowered his hand.
Eira emerged from the treeline.
She looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Her long white hair was a tangled disaster, sticking up in three different directions. She wore her standard tunic, which hung loosely on her tall, slender frame, and her golden eyes were half-lidded, heavy with exhaustion.
She looked like a fragile doll who needed a solid twelve hours of sleep.
Except for the fact that her right hand was gripping the tusk of a massive Greater Forest Boar—a beast the size of a carriage—and she was dragging its carcass behind her with zero visible effort.
"Morning," she mumbled, stifling a yawn with her free hand. She dropped the boar's tusk. The ground shook. "Breakfast."
Asta's jaw dropped. "EIRA! THAT'S HUGE! DID YOU USE MAGIC? DID YOU BLAST IT?"
Eira winced, rubbing her temple. "Volume, Asta. My head."
"Did you use magic though?" Yuno asked, eyeing the clean break on the beast's neck.
"No," Eira muttered, walking past them toward the church wall. She sat down and immediately leaned her head back against the stone. "Mana is for combat. Muscles are for groceries. Conservation of energy."
"THAT'S SO COOL!" Asta screamed, stars in his eyes. "I'M GONNA CATCH TWO OF THEM!"
Eira cracked one eye open. "If you scream again, I'm doubling your rep count."
Asta immediately clamped his hands over his mouth. He knew better. Eira didn't make idle threats.
By the time the sun reached its peak at noon, the Grimoire Tower was packed. Every fifteen-year-old from the surrounding region had gathered for the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony, filling the dusty library with nervous whispers and anticipation. It was the day that decided their fates.
The master of the tower, an old man named Drouot, stood on his podium, levitating. "Welcome, young mages! Today, you begin your journey toward the title of Wizard King! I wish you faith, hope, and love!"
Books began to glow on the shelves. Colors of every spectrum lit up the dusty library as Grimoires floated down to their new owners. Some were thick, some thin, some glowing brightly, others dim.
A green light illuminated the center of the room. A book with a four-leaf clover descended toward Yuno.
"The Four-Leaf..." someone gasped. "The legendary clover of the first Wizard King!"
Yuno caught it, his expression stoic, though his eyes burned with ambition. "I will become the Wizard King."
The crowd erupted. A legend had been born right in front of them.
Then, Asta stepped forward. He held out his hands. He waited. And waited. Nothing happened.
"Uhh..." Asta looked around. "Excuse me? My Grimoire?"
"Try again next year," Drouot said pitilessly.
The crowd laughed. It was cruel and sharp. Asta stood there, frozen, his hands still outstretched, trembling slightly.
"One more," Drouot called out, checking his list. "Eira of Hage."
The laughter died down slightly as Eira stepped forward. She walked slowly, hands tucked into her sleeves, looking bored. She stopped next to Asta. She didn't look at the shelves. She just looked at the floor.
"Is she awake?" a noble whispered. "She looks like a peasant hobo."
Suddenly, the air in the tower grew heavy. The hair on Asta's arms stood up. It wasn't the wind—it was static. A low, vibrating hum filled the room, like the sound of a massive generator powering up.
A book on the highest shelf, shrouded in shadow, rattled violently. It didn't float down gently like Yuno's; it shot off the shelf like a projectile.
THUNK.
Eira caught it with one hand without looking up.
The hum stopped instantly.
She held the book up. It was a deep, metallic blue, the color of a storm at midnight. On the cover, etched in shimmering silver, was a clover.
A Four-Leaf Clover.
The silence was deafening. Even Yuno looked stunned.
"Two..." Drouot whispered, his glasses slipping down his nose. "Two Four-Leaf Clovers... from the forsaken realm?"
Eira stared at the book for a second, feeling the familiar weight of it. Then, she tucked it under her arm and turned to the crowd. "Can we go? I'm hungry."
She grabbed Asta by the back of his tunic before he could start crying about his lack of a book. "Come on, Asta. We're leaving."
The excitement of the ceremony faded into a quiet, heavy atmosphere as the sun began to set. The trio walked back toward the church, their footsteps crunching on the dirt path. Yuno was in front, admiring his Grimoire, while Eira dragged a sullen Asta by his collar.
"I'm hopeless," Asta whispered. "Even you got one, Eira."
"Don't group me in with your bad luck," Eira said, though her voice wasn't harsh. She let him go. "You're sturdy. You'll figure it out."
"Wait," Yuno said, stopping abruptly.
Eira sensed it a second later. The shift in the air. "Asta, get back."
Before Asta could react, steel chains erupted from the ground and the walls of the nearby ruins. They snaked through the air with the speed of striking vipers.
Yuno reacted fast, but not fast enough. The chains wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms. His Grimoire fell to the ground.
"Well, well," a greasy voice echoed. A tall man with a scar across his face stepped out from the shadows. Revchi the Chain User. "I was expecting a good haul today, but two Four-Leaf Clovers? I've hit the jackpot."
He pointed a finger at Eira. Chains shot toward her.
Eira didn't dodge. She raised her left arm. The chains coiled around her forearm, wrist, and bicep, tightening to crush the bone.
"My Chain Magic seals the mana of anyone it touches!" Revchi laughed, picking up Yuno's Grimoire. "You two are prodigies? Too bad. Without magic, you're just bratty kids."
Yuno struggled, but his wind wouldn't come. The chains were sapping his strength.
"Hey," Eira said.
Revchi looked over. Eira was looking at the chains wrapped around her arm. She didn't look scared. She looked annoyed.
"You sealed my magic," Eira said, her voice dropping an octave. "You didn't seal my muscles."
She gripped the chain wrapped around her left arm with her right hand. Her glove creaked. Underneath her tunic, the dense, corded muscle of her shoulders coiled.
She yanked.
Revchi's eyes bulged. He was lifted off his feet. He flew through the air like a ragdoll, pulled by the very chain he was holding.
"What the—?!"
Eira spun, using the momentum to slam Revchi into the dirt. "Asta! Now!"
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Asta roared, charging out of the bushes.
Revchi scrambled back, blood dripping from his nose. "You little monsters! I won't let a bunch of peasants ruin my payday!"
He slammed both hands on the ground. "Chain Magic: Dance of the Pit Viper!"
Hundreds of chains erupted from the earth. Eira swatted two away with her bare hands, shattering the links, but there were too many. They piled onto her, burying her under a mountain of steel, and slammed Asta into the wall.
"Asta!" Yuno shouted.
"You have no magic!" Revchi sneered at Asta, stepping on his chest. "You are nothing! Give up!"
Asta gritted his teeth. Blood ran down his face. "I'm... not... done yet..."
"Asta..." Yuno called out. "He's... our rival!"
The pile of chains covering Eira shifted. A low, blue glow began to emanate from the cracks in the steel.
"Hey, chain-guy," Eira's voice came from beneath the pile. It sounded like grinding stones. "You made a mistake."
Suddenly, a black aura exploded from Asta. A dirty, tattered Grimoire floated in front of him. A Five-Leaf Clover. A massive, rusted sword slid out of the pages.
Asta grabbed the hilt. The anti-magic roared.
At the same moment, the mountain of chains on top of Eira exploded outward.
Blue lightning arced into the sky. Eira stood up, her Grimoire floating beside her, screaming with power. A bow made of pure, crackling white lightning—the Zephyr Stinger—materialized in her hand.
"You woke me up," Eira said, her eyes glowing gold.
Asta swung. The anti-magic sword sliced through Revchi's spell like butter. The chains dissolved. Yuno summoned a tornado. Eira drew the lightning string back.
"DO IT!" Asta screamed.
"Tornado!" Yuno shouted. "Slash!" Asta roared. "Discharge," Eira whispered.
Three attacks hit simultaneously. The wind battered him. The sword slammed him. And three lightning arrows pinned his clothes to the cliff face before he could even blink.
Revchi slumped against the wall, unconscious, smoke rising from his vest.
As the dust settled and the adrenaline faded, silence returned to the clearing. The sun had fully set, casting long shadows across the ruins.
Asta panted, leaning on his massive sword. Yuno dusted off his shoulder. Eira let her lightning bow dissipate into sparks and sat down on a rock, rubbing her neck.
"That was... exhilarating," Yuno admitted, a rare smile tugging at his lips.
"I GOT A GRIMOIRE!" Asta screamed, hugging the dirty book. "LOOK! I HAVE ONE TOO!"
"It looks like it was fished out of a sewer," Eira deadpanned, though she was watching him with a soft look in her eyes. "Fits you perfectly."
Yuno stepped forward. "Asta. Eira."
He held out his fist.
"I'm going to be the Wizard King," Yuno stated.
Asta grinned, bumping his fist against Yuno's. "Not if I get there first!"
They both looked at Eira. She sighed, standing up and walking over. She bumped her fist against the top of theirs.
"I'm going to be the Wizard King," Eira said lazily. "Mostly because the King gets to sleep in a castle while everyone else does the work. So you two better work hard, or I'm taking the throne."
The three of them stood there under the skull of the demon, the mana of wind, anti-magic, and storm crackling in the air between them.
The legend of Hage Village had begun.