Last Stand

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but the peace found within it.

So that's what he became. Serene.

And what happened next was truly extraordinary.

By awakening the blessed blood of the children of mana and having the affinity for multiple different magic types due to the uniqueness of his [Demon Slaying Magic], Grim did something never thought possible.

He performed a solo union of magic types.

No, union magic wasn't the right term for this, this was more than that. Much more, it was a hybrid.

Hybrid Magic.

Combining [Breath of Wind] and [Breath of Thunder], something new was born, something spectacular.

---

With the brightness of his grimoire begining to die down and the violent winds rampaging through the area ceasing, the dust slowly settled as everyone (Zagred included) paused to witness Grim's figure. And man was it glorious.

Walking out from behind the dust cloud, the first thing that caught everyone's attention was his skin. As if dark grey clouds had molded themselves onto his body like a second layer of skin, his entire face and upper body had completely changed color. That wasn't even mentioning the pulsing yellow lightning like markings decorating its surface like veins. The pupils in his eyes had completely vanished and their place was nothing but glowing yellow light with flickers of lightning discharging out of them. Even his hair had changed. While maintaining its elven white colour, it too was glowing and had spiked up.

Forgetting his physical changes for the moment, even his clothes had a minor transformation. Now glowing with a dark grey hue and being ruffled by the dark grey winds swirling around his feet, visible particles of yellow mana were breaking off and ascended upwards.

This was Grim's Stormguard, an automatic form triggered upon the activation of [Breath of the Storm].

"A-Amazing..."

Taking a step forward, the amount of mana oozing out of his body became suffocating as a katana formed in his hand. With a blade as black as ink, streaks of yellow lightning formed starting from the handguard all the way up to the sword's tip. A fitting sword that complemented Grim's [Stormguard] appearance.

The Storm Blade.

---

-Grim's Mindscape/King's Realm-

Standing in the infinite landscape of Grim's mind, a distorted figure sat on a throne made of dragon bones watching Grim's actions on what looked like a cinema screen.

"Hahahahaha, took you long enough kid! But this ain't your limit is it?!! Nah! You're gonna get much MUCH stronger from here on out aren't cha! Ha! I can't wait to see it."

---

"Incredible." Lumiere muttered. "These kids are really really incredible."

By taking control of the overflowing anti-magic leaking out from his sword, Asta had managed increase his power but also gained a third horn.

Gathering all the scattered mana from the earlier battles due to his wind, Yuno shaped it all into a weapon capable of injuring a devil.

Taking advantage of his huge mana pool, unique magic, untapped potential and the benefits of his blood, Grim blended two different magical elements together and achieved a form and power that gave him a meteoric rise in strength.

Looking at the three magic knights from his kingdom, a sense of pride welled up in Lumiere's stone heart. If not for his current form, he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop the tears of joy that would be escaping his eyes.

Even Licht couldn't stop himself from feeling a bit emotional from seeing the three of them.

Feeling the power dwelling with his body, Grim moved forward to join Asta and Yuno as all three of them stood together staring at a deteriorating Zagred.

"One hit." Grim suddenly said in a voice that was quite a bit deeper than normal. "All I need is one more hit and I can end this."

'One hit... I don't know how long I can maintain the stability between [Breath of Wind] and [Breath of Thunder]. But I'll at least hit that devil with everything I have before the connection breaks.'

"One hit?" Asta and Yuno looked at each other before nodding.

Seeing the two agree with him, a huge weight felt like it had just been lifted off of his shoulders. While he was confident in beating Zagred, he knew that the Devil would use his magic to drag the battle out and run the time on this form. And although he knew Zagred was living on borrowed time, he didn't want him to die due to the effects of his magic. If he wasn't the one to end him by using his sword, then he couldn't truly acknowledge this as a win. So as much as he hated to admit it, he needed someone to help out.

"Hey Asta?" Yuno spoke out.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"That guy's probably gonna use that weird storm of swords move again."

"Probably."

"Then I'll take care of the normal swords-"

"And I'll take care of the magic ones."

""And we'll clear the path for you."" The two said in union smiling at each other.

'Clear the path for me?'

*Flashback to Mars fight*

'To think they're saying it this time... What reliable fellas.'

*Smiles*

"I'll leave it to you guys then."

"Yep! We'll settle this in a instant." Asta said full of confidence.

"Mmm." Yuno nodded. "We've got this, just end this bastard once and for all."

Nodding his head, the three magic knights gripped their swords tightly and prepared for their last stand.

"DAmN ThEM! DaMn tHEM! dAMN ThEm!!!" Zagred shrieked sensing the three's increase in power. Even more so from Grim's figure. Right now his alarm bells were ringing so loudly that it threatened to manifest in real life.

[STORM OF SWORDS!!]

And just like they predicted, he used his most overt spell along with every other spell he'd used so far.

So as the trio watched the spells descend down on them, a couple of smiles appeared on their faces as they turned to each other and said-

"See you on the other side."