Noelle finds Asta sitting at the edge of a cliff, nearly a mile away from their new base. His shirt sprawled on the floor, laying beside a long beaten up long piece of wood, that had marks that indicated how much forced had been used to grip it. Only someone like Asta was capable of producing that much strength from just his grip alone.
The Boy sat with his scarred back facing Noelle.
"Asta?"
Hearing his name being called, he turned to meet her purple coloured eyes. They locked eyes for a bit before she withdrew her gaze to the side, her cheeks blushing.
"Hey."
Asta greeted with mirth, his face showing plainly the cold detachment he now felt due to the recent events. Noelle showed a sad expression seeing that face, once even with just a little call he would stumble in seconds ready to go into action while giving baseless comments and chatter like an excited kid. But now it was as if she looked into the eyes of a dying soul, it was cold, tired and breathless.
"Miss Noelle, is there anything you need help with?"
Realising that Asta rarely addressed her with a noble title, hearing these words felt strange and absurd but rather than address this she simply went forward to sit beside him.
Both former magic Knights watched the sun slowly go down in the horizon over the rocky clearing with sparse vegetation they now called home.
"Only God knows where we are."
Noelle commented at the sight,
"I wouldn't expect any less from the Wizard King, it wouldn't be a banishment otherwise"
Still in awe of the enigma that was the Wizard King, Asta expressed his inner thoughts with Noelle and soon they fell into a deep conversation.
"Do you have anyone that will miss you?"
"Yes. My Grandma and some of the maids"
"For me, that would be those at the church in Hage and some friends in the village"
"I am sorry"
"Don't be, even if it didn't come to this point I wouldn't have become Wizard King anyways"
The Memory of when King Augustus declared firmly in that banquet at the behest of some nobles that Asta had pissed off after he saved a waitress who was being picked on,
"Anyone without Magic can never become the Wizard King!!"
That was a humiliating and devastating experience for him. Noelle gave a small laugh prompting Asta to turn and ask why she was doing so.
"Sorry, it's just I pity them"
"Why?"
"Because they will never know how great of a wizard King you could have been"
"Yuno, will probably be better"
"True but given how he usually is, I find it very unlikely that he will go as far as you would have"
Her complements went through to Asta who gave a small smile before his mouth contorted and he began to sob. For the first time, Noelle saw him break down in tears. She knew this meant he had given up, he had made way for despair. Noelle immediately put her arms around him, allowing him to vent out all his pent up frustration and pain with understanding.
The Day they first met still held tremendous importance to her. She was still starting out with the Black bulls. Magna, Luck and Noelle were sent on their first mission near the outskirts of the capital where they had to subdue wild magic beast terrorising the locals.
As Magna and Luck left her to engage in one of their petty competitions, she found herself surrounded by wild beasts controlled by some weird bandits holding a magic item.
There were locals behind her whom she protected but given her unstable magic having any real advantage was impossible, then Asta shows up with a rusted sword.
He parried the bandit before dispatching his item this saving them, she tried her best to treat his injuries until they rest came back.
Yami was mad at Magna and Luck who tried to blame each other for nearly leaving their young comrade out to die.
After a brief discussion, Asta introduced himself as an aspiring magic knight who couldn't pass this year's trials due to his inability to wield magic, he didn't even have a grimoire, only a rusted great sword he found near the ruins in Hage his hometown.
Yami sparred with his for a bit before making the most ridiculous statement ever,
"I Like you, come join my team"
How was a magicless guy supposed to keep up with them during battles but she was surprised as he kept on surpassing them in every way with just physical ability and sheer will and determination.
The things he didn't have in raw power, he made up in mind and muscle. Soon he saved up enough to buy a magic item but ended up buying another rusted ancient sword claiming that it was special until he found out that it could absorb and reflect spells back at the attacker making it the ideal weapon for him.
He continued ranking up till the day they were sent to watch over a banquet held by some noble where Asta fought his leacherous son trying to force himself on a waitress.
This led to them being blacklisted by all the squads. But Asta tried to go over with Magna, Luck and Gordon trying to smooth things over so that the charges could be dropped but there he discovered a dungeon where the family held sex parties with other nobles and unwilling participants.
Of course, like always instead of first getting evidence and then returning with reinforcements. They all had a massive brawl that ended with them retreating, they came back with reinforcements but it was too late, all evidence was gone.
Even a girl whom he had promised to save, like the hero he was, he pursued the case relentlessly even when they were finally suspended for taking unauthorised action. Yami still believed him and so they all of them but their enemies were smarter, faster and had more resources and support.
All their efforts and investigations ended with the squad being cornered in an underground lair above the same mansion surrounded at all sides by powerful mage assassins.
They made sure that Yami wasn't present by sending him away with a magic item- a Black book containing forbidden magic spells and rituals.
After all the fighting, Asta ended up killing the same noble's whom he had the argument with in that banquet after the man had described how they killed and destroyed the bodies of all the people whom they forced to participate fearing being outed by one of them.
All the assassins fled, setting the place on fire in order to hide the evidence.
They all escaped carrying the body with them, they were once again cornered this time by their fellow magic knights who seeing the dead body and the Black book in Asta's possession assumed the worst of them.
Leading to months of investigation and finally, their banishment, all spear headed by the noble's parents who refuse to understand why their son had to die over such.
All refusing to acknowledge their own involvement in spoiling their child, allowing him to participate in the degeneracy that ruined him.
In the middle of all this was the boy who only wanted to create a kingdoms where everyone were happy and treated equally. The Boy now crying in her hands, all alone, scared and disillusioned.
Noelle comforted him as best as she could until he finally came to himself but alas another tragedy awaited them.
"Are you perhaps, the magicless boy with the Black book of the End?"
An unfamiliar voice called out to them, better said, Asta.
It was the priestly figure, this time with more blood and gore on his body and an even more chilling smile stretched across his face.
Asta with his Ki sense taught to him by Yami during one of their sparring sessions, felt the grotesque otherworldy presence exuding from him and went in front of Noelle trying to protect her.
"Ah.. I see you are the one I have been looking for"
Asta heard a squishing sound behind him, as a burst of blood hit his back. With a thud Noelle's body fell to the ground, a gaping hole present in her abdomen from which her internal organs spilled out through.
A Wave of desperation and despair overcame Asta as he whimpered,
"Noe.. Noelle".