Slayer of the Five Leaf Clover

Chapter 17: Within the Fifth part 3

  (Shinobu's p.o.v.)

  Asta had been meditating, trying to contact his Devil for about half an hour, and I didn't know if he pulled it off or not at the time. "Are you worried about your boyfriend, Shinobu?" My sister's question made me embarrassed and I replied, "He's not my boyfriend!" But she didn't believe me. "You don't need to be embarrassed, all girls have that feeling at your age." He teased me again. "I told you we're just friends! Besides he's 3 years younger than-" I stopped talking when I saw that her expression turned from joyous to surprised. I asked her, "What's wrong?" All she did was point to something behind me. I turned around to see what it was, and saw tears trickling down Asta's face. I was surprised by the sight as well. I never thought I'd see the day when Asta cried in front of me. I mean, he's usually a stoic yet happy boy, the thought of seeing him cry made my heart ache for some reason. After a minute, Asta opened his eyes and wiped away the tears. I asked, "What's wrong, Asta? Why were you crying?" He replied, "I cried for my Devil." Me and my sister were both puzzled by what he told us, so my sister asked, "What did it tell you?" He told us his conversation with the Devil in his grimoire.

  Flashback

(????? P.o.v.)

That magicless brat said that he wanted to help me. I honestly thought he was sick in the head, but he reminded me of someone I once knew. So, I decided to tell him. "Alright, I'll tell you my story." He gave me his undivided attention as I relived my past.

"Long ago, when I lived in the underworld, I was tormented everyday by my fellow Devils. Since the underworld is a bleak and boring place, Devils pass the time by tormenting those weaker than themselves. I was born without magic, so I at the bottom of the heap. Ever since I was born, I spent every day covered in my own blood. Every devil wants to come to the human world, but the underworld gate keeps them from leaving. After being beaten bloody so much, I stopped caring about anything, even if I died. Then, one day a higher ranked devil threw me at the gates out of anger. I thought that I would crash into it and smash to pieces. But, because I had no magic I passed through the gate and next thing I knew, I was in the human world. I don't know if it was because I was magicless and weak, or because I was so torn up, but I couldn't care less about you humans. I just wandered around aimlessly through villages, but because I was a devil, people feared and loathed me, even though I didn't do anything to them. Humans with powerful magic chased me out. I ran until I was too exhausted to keep going and I succumbed to my injuries. As I laid in a pool of blood in the forest, my consciousness fading, I thought 'Finally, my worthless will come to an end.' But when I came to I was in someone's bed, covered in bandages. I heard someone off to my left say, 'Good, you're awake.' It was a human woman with ash blonde hair and green eyes, she introduced herself as Licita. She found me in the forest while gathering firewood. She was talking to me without a hint of fear in her voice. When I asked her if she was afraid of me, she told me that she had no reason to be afraid of a magicless child who was injured. She even told me that I wasn't the only one people hated. Licita had a curse that absorbs mana and life energy from anything near her. Because of that, she had to live far away from her village alone. But what she said next made think she lost it.................she said decided to adopt me because I was the only one who could be around her and live. But, without any place left to go, I went along with her idea. She even gave me something I didn't have before then......................................................a name. Liebe was what she called. That woman changed my whole world for the better. However, those peaceful days wouldn't last long. One day, while we were out in an open field, I was being possessed by the king of devils, Lucifero himself, he planned to use my body to help him find a way to manifest his full power in the human world, but Licita tried to stop him before he took full control, she demanded Lucifero to leave my body immediately. But, he used my arm to impale her through the stomach. She managed to force Lucifero out of me, but before he left, the Devil king said that he would return to try again. As Licita was dying, she sealed me within the five leaf grimoire, which she said she found a few days before meeting me, as a means of protection. She hoped that one day I would be released and have grown strong. 'Please Liebe, live. My precious son.' those were her final words before I was sealed. Ever since that day, I had cursed Lucifero and the other devils, until recently I had manifested my power. The power to nullify magic, Anti-magic." By the time I finished telling him my story, I noticed that Asta was crying. I asked him, "What's wrong with you?" He replied, "It's sad, you suffered even more than me." What he said made me realize that he had been through something similar. "Liebe, if there's a way to let you out of the grimoire, would you be willing to join the Demon Slayer Corps?" I was surprised that he would be willing to let a devil out into the world. He explained his reasons for asking me that question, "Even if you get out of the grimoire, you still don't have the skills to fight other devils, Anti-magic or not. So, if you join the Corps, you will not only be able to train your powers, but also the position to gain combat experience, making it easier for you to be able to defeat devils." He made a compelling argument, but there was one hole in his plan, "Even if I agree, I doubt the Demon Slayer Corps will allow a Devil into their ranks." Asta replied, "I'll explain everything to the Master, I'm sure he would be willing to let you in." With that, I decided to take a gamble, and agree to his proposal. "Alright, if you can free me, I'll join the Demon Slayer Corps." He nodded and said farewell.