chapter 17: Battle of the capital part 1

Standing on a pile of zombies, Rowan surveyed the carnage that lay before him.

"This area's clear now, let's go find others!" With that, he jumped off the pile of zombies and began running in a random direction.

But as he realized something, he stopped in his tracks and exclaimed, "Oh no, I'm lost!"

***

In the midst of the attack, a man with his army of undead cornered a little girl, whose back was against a wall.

Rades smirked at the little girl and asked, "Do you like the Clover Kingdom?" His wired eye patch gleamed with darkness as he spoke.

"I love it.... So please stop this attack and let me go home."

Rades grinned wickedly and said, "Well, if you love it so much, then I'm sure you'll hate it when I break it all! The town, the people, and you, little girl. I'm going to make sure nothing is left standing!"

The little girl shut her eyes tightly, trembling in fear as the undead started to move closer to her.

"THEN I'LL PROTECT IT!"

When suddenly, Asta shouted as he charged towards the little girl. He unleashed his anti-magic sword and slashed through the undead hordes that blocked his path.

Rowan leapt down from the top of a house and slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth. He immediately shouted at Asta, "Geez Asta! You're so loud!" His eyes then turned towards Rades, and he yelled, "Hey you, weird eyepatch guy! Let the little girl go!"

Rades snarled, "So some body showed up and they were just brats of Bulls!"

Asta's voice was filled with anger as he shouted, "Why are you attacking the capital, you crazy jerk!?" He held his sword tightly in his hand, the blade of his Demon Slayer Sword pointing directly at Rades.

Rades sneered and said, "Why would I tell you, moron? You can't stop my army from an attack like this either way! I'm going to destroy the Clover Kingdom, whether you like it or not!"

Rades was expecting for his undead troops to get back up, but Asta's anti-magic sword had destroyed the magic that Rades casted on them, and they didn't budge.

"Wait... huh!?"

Rades was taken aback as he saw that his undead army hadn't moved.

Neve flew in between Asta and Rades, her wings buzzing as she spoke. "Hey you wired eyepatch guy, I'm not in a good mood right now, so you better do as Rowan says!"

Taking advantage of Rades' shock, the little girl quickly ran towards Asta and grabbed his legs, burying her face against his clothes. "Please, help me get home!" she pleaded, her voice trembling with fear.

Asta smiled reassuringly at the little girl and said, "Geez, kid, you can move! We're here to protect you, don't you worry."

Rades roared and waved his hands in the air, summoning a horde of undead to fight them.

Rowan heard some explosions in the distance and turned his head to the central district. Smoke filled the air and flashes of light illuminated the sky.

He then said, "It looks like everyone else has decided to join in. Let's end this quickly and help others!" His hand glowed with a blue light and he unleashed his Ice Magic spell, "[Ice Magic: Ice Age]!" encasing the summoned zombies in a dome of ice. The dome of ice shattered, and the zombies were frozen in place, unable to move.

Rowan said, "Time to bring you down!" He then focused his energy and his sword caught blue flames.

Rades laughed maniacally and his eyes glowed with a sinister light. "You think you can defeat me with just a few measly spells? I'll show you the power of my magic!" He waved his hands and summoned more undead zombies to attack them.

Asta and Rowan then quickly swung their swords, slashing through the zombies. Everywhere the two swords touched, the zombies were either frozen or cut in half. The two were quickly surrounded by countless bodies of zombies, some frozen like statues and some cut in half.

Leopold arrived just in time to see the carnage that Asta and Rowan had created. He was astonished at the sheer power of the two, as the zombies lay frozen or cut in half around them.

Leopold's eyes twinkled with excitement and admiration as he watched Asta and Rowan fight. "Those two.., they've taken down so many with just their swords. What incredible strength! What a stupid, ridiculously straight forward way to fight! HAHAHA..! They are just way too interesting! That's exactly what makes them the perfect rivals!" he thought.

Asta turned to Rowan and said, "Hey Rowan! Why are you using your sword all the time? If you improve your spells and use them in the fight, you'll be much stronger."

Rowan smirked a little and said, "Well I really like to fight with swords and if I only use spells, then what about the knight part of magic knights!? What could be more knight worthy than a guy wielding a sword to defeat his enemies!? Plus, I think it just looks cool! That's why I choose to do it!"

"Just like that?"

Rowan smirked at him, " Well there's another reason for me using the sword, I'll tell you later. It's a secret."

Rades scoffed and said, "You have time to chat in a situation like this? Looks like you two really are just brats who don't understand a thing!"

Asta rushed at Rades with lightning speed, sword in hand. He shouted, "Why are you attacking innocent people you sleazebag!? I'm gonna take you down!"

But before Asta reached him, a beam of energy suddenly shot out of Rades' and traveled towards Asta. But luckily, Rowan managed to push Asta out of the way before it could hit him. The beam of energy grazed a part of Rowan's cheek, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

"Rowan!"

Neve yelled out, "Hey dork-sta! Rowan's cheeks got injured because of you! Watch yourself or I'm going to beat you up!"

Rowan smiled and said, "I'm good.. It was only a scratch. But I appreciate your concern, Neve."

A deafening roar echoed from the portal as a large, undead creature emerged from it. It had a gruesome appearance, with bones jutting out of its rotting flesh and deep black eyes that glowed with an unnatural light. It was an intimidating sight, and Asta and Rowan prepared themselves for battle.

"Number 4... Jimmy!"

"What the hell!? What is that thing?" Rowan exclaimed. His eyes widened as he saw a multitude of purple magical balls swirling around the zombie.

Asta shouted, "You've been bringing out all kinds of creepy stuff! That's not fair, you jerk!" He gripped his sword tightly, ready to take on the creature.

"Don't let it hit you, Asta."

"Huh?"

Asta's face suddenly changed to one of shock when he saw the blood trickling down Rowan's cheek.

Rowan glanced at Asta, his expression serious. "Whatever magic that thing is using, if you get hit it will cause bleeding, and it doesn't seem to stop!" He readied his sword, ready to fight the creature.

Rades cackled as he saw the blood running down Rowan's cheek. "Smart one, aren't you? That's right, you got hit by Jimmy's special-made curse shell. It's loaded up with curse power! Even scratches won't stop bleeding now, so I'd be really careful if I were you!"

Asta quickly summoned his Demon-Dweller sword, ready to fight the creature. He and Rowan fought fiercely, blocking each of the creature's attacks with their weapons.

Rades shouted out his orders, "Jimmy, finish off the brat in the back! She's an eyesore!"

Asta moved quickly, his weapon clashing with the cursed beams and deflecting them away from the little girl.

Asta shouted, "Who are you aiming at!"

Rowan had suddenly appeared behind Jimmy, brandishing his sword and yelling, "I'm your opponent now!" He rushed forward and attacked Jimmy with a flurry of sword slashes.

Finding his chance, Rades ordered Jimmy to fire even more beams towards the girl, while the Asta used everything they had to prevent the beams from reaching her.

Asta was starting to slow down, fatigue setting in, which didn't go unnoticed by Rowan. With a burst of energy, Rowan suddenly dashes at him and pulled him out the way and they switched places. Unfortunately, Rowan's left arm was grazed by the cursed beam, causing it to start bleeding profusely.

Rades cackled, "Ha ha ha! Hurry up and abandon her! What good is she to you now? She's just going to get in your way!"

Asta gasped and looked up at Rowan, his face full of shock and disbelief. Rowan just smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've got this!"

Neve stepped forward, her eyes blazing with anger. "That's enough! If you're that tired, then let me help you die faster. Why are you being a burden to Rowan? He's already risking his life for you, and you can't even protect yourself?"

Rowan put on a brave face, despite the pain in his arm. "It's only a scratch," he said with a tight smile. "At this rate, I won't last very long," he thought to himself.

Asta clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, determined to keep fighting. "I'm not done yet," he muttered. He readied his sword and charged at the creature again, focusing all his energy on fighting it off.

Rowan drew his sword up, ready to keep fighting, but Neve stepped forward and touched his shoulder. "Let me help you," she said.

Rowan let out a long breath and looked at Neve. "Do you want to use it?" she asked with a gentle smile.

Rowan smiled back. "Not now, let's see first," he said.