Devil Knight of the Makai Order

Chapter 2: An Offer

(No one's p.o.v.)

  The guy named Iska, introduced himself as a Makai Knight, which caught Asta's attention, but he couldn't keep himself conscious any longer and blacked out. The Silver Knight looked at the former Magic Knight and said, "From the look of it, this guy managed to fight off the Horrors by himself before I got here. Even mages at Stage 0 can't hold off even one Horror for more than a minute, yet this guy managed to hold off against a couple hundred of them all on his own." Iska picked up Asta as well as his grimoire, and began walking away when a feminine voice said to him, "Iska, I believe I know how this boy was able to hold his own against the Horrors." He looked down to see a silver necklace around his neck with tiger like pendant.

He asked curious, "How so, Silva?" The necklace named Silva replied, "I smell a devil inside his grimoire, meaning this boy is a devil host. Though there appears to be no contract between the two of them yet, and I don't think the devil has possessed the boy even once." Iska was surprised to hear that and thought to himself, 'A Devil host who as yet to form a contract with his Devil? I guess that means that he either doesn't know there's a Devil in his grimoire or he only recently learned of the Devil and hasn't taken any action yet.' "Well, I think we should talk to him when he wakes up. I'd like to know what kind of person he's like." Iska decided. Silva asked, "Oh, so you wish to know if he's worthy and willing to join the Order?" "Well, if he managed to hold off a horde of Inga Horrors, I'd say that he has the skills to qualify." The Makai Knight answered.

   Timeskip - 3 hours

   (Asta's p.o.v.)

  I woke up to find that I was laying on the ground next to a burning campfire. I looked around to see the one who saved me sitting by the fire roasting a couple of rabbits. He noticed me and asked, "Ah, your awake." I sat up and asked, "Where am I?" He answered, "We're near a river just a couple miles away from where we were when you passed out. I brought you here to my campsite so I could treat your wounds, which I barely found any." I said to him, "If I remember right, your name is Iska, right? Well, my name is Asta. Sorry that I blacked out before introducing myself." He chuckled and replied, "It's fine, you managed to fight off those things and survived, and there's many mages who can do that."

I looked him curious about what he meant. Before I could ask him, he asked me, "What are you doing way out here anyway, Asta?" I decided to explain why was out in the middle of nowhere, since he did save me from getting eaten by those things. After telling him my story, he had a pitiful look on his face and replied, "I see, I'm sorry you had to go through that." I responded, "Don't be. It's alright." "So, you said that you planned to travel across the continent and help those in need in all countries other than Clover Kingdom, but why? You had been betrayed by everyone you cared about, most in your position would give up on humanity and live only for themselves. So, why do you want to help others even if they might betray you too at some point?"

  He had a point, from what I've seen so far humans can be just as vile as Devils like Zagred. But, there was something he seemed to forget. "You may be right, there are plenty more people like the aristocrats of Clover Kingdom, people who use others and view them as nothing but disposable tools. In that regard, humans aren't all that different than Devils. But I know not all humans are evil, there are people who strive to be good. People who genuinely care about others and will do what they can for them. People who would even go so far as to sell their soul for the sake of their loved ones. It's those kinds of people that I want to protect. I may not be a Magic Knight anymore, but that won't stop me from doing everything in my power to protect all that they can be. Though this may make me a hypocrite since I don't care what happens to Clover, I want to protect everyone from the darkness that threatens to swallow them whole."

 
  (Iska's p.o.v.)

  I was absolutely stunned by his motivation to protect innocent people, he was without a doubt, a shining example of a knight. I said to him, "Asta, there maybe a path where you can protect others with your skills with your blades." He looked at me curious and asked, "What are you talking about?" I replied, "Before I get to that, let me ask you. Do you know what you were fighting against earlier?" He shook his head and I replied, "They're called Horrors." "Horrors?" He asked. I explained, "A race of demon like creatures who prey mostly on humans. Greed, envy, hatred, despair. People caught up in those feelings become possessed and turned into creatures of darkness, condemned to wander the night for fresh victims. They have been around since long before recorded history, and only one group has been able to keep them at bay. This group is called the Makai Order, an underground organization formed to defend our world from otherworldly threats, Horrors are the most common. The warriors who fight on the front lines against these monsters are the Makai Knights."

  He replied, "One of those Horrors mentioned Makai Knights before you showed up and saved me. It said that it was impressive for me to kill so many of them despite not being a Makai Knight." I got curious about that statement and asked, "How many did you kill before I got there?" He answered, "There were 300 of them when the fight started, and I only managed to kill half of them."  I was shocked to hear that he was able to kill 150 Horrors consecutively and alone at that. But before we got to into it, I decided to get back on topic. "That's very impressive. And with the skills you have in swordsmanship, I believe you would make the cut." I paused for a moment and continued, "Asta, because the Order is an underground organization, we do our best not to get involved with outsiders. However, for the last hundred years or so, more victims who get saved from Horror attacks have been wanting to join the Makai Order as either Makai Priests or Knights. Because of this increase in personnel, the leaders of the Order had built a city and academy in the heart of the Grand Magic Region to not only educate and train new recruits. Though the arts and ways of the Order are passed by through their families, and are taught at an early age. With the size of the organization today, one could say that the Makai Order is it's own sovereign nation. This is another reason why they built a city of their own, to serve as their headquarters, or capital in other words."

  Asta asked, "So Makai Knights are like nobles in a way?" I replied, "In a way, yes. However, unlike the aristocrats that you know, the Makai Knights are raised to be honorable warriors, and as a discipline, taught to control their emotions at all times. The Order doesn't take kindly to any corruption in the ranks. So, we don't have to worry about arrogant bastards in the group. And I think at this point, I should make you my offer." I paused for a moment to catch my breath and asked, "Asta, would like to join the Makai Order?" He was surprised by what I asked him, but he quickly responded with a smile, "If it means I'll be able to fight for the innocent, then I'll gladly join."

  I smiled back and said, "We'll head to the academy in the morning, so let's get eat and get some sleep." With that, we began eating the rabbits I had cooking over the fire and went to sleep.

  Timeskip - the next morning

   We woke up, ate breakfast, and began our journey back to the Makai Order, where my new friend will begin his training to become a Makai Knight.