Darksteel

Chapter 19; Monster Lord.

After his previous class, Asta found himself walking alone to Art. 

In truth, he did not mind walking by himself, and the scenery of the campus was quite enjoyable today as well, making for a beautiful picture as he walked. The fall leaves were bright shades of yellow, orange, and fiery red, standing starkly against the bright blueness of the sky.

From above, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds every once in awhile, as though perhaps it were shy to show its face. Yet despite that, the air wasn't too cold-- biting with only enough chill to make Asta wonder if he ought to borrow Adar's scarf again.

Continuing down the path, he took delight in every inch of sun-kissed scenery, feeling as though he were walking in a trance. 

All around him were the sleepy sounds of autumn; the warm singing of birds, the gentle whisper of a calm breeze... and something else. Something ususual.

For a brief moment, it sounded as if the noises were coming from behind him, yet it did not occur to Asta that he was being followed until a dirty cloth bag was thrown over his head and three sets of arms latched onto his body, beginning to haul him away.

It was all terribly familiar.

His heart racing wildly, Asta tried kicking and punching his captors, but whatever was making the cloth over his head smell so terrible was making him sleepy as well. He felt his limbs grow heavier as if they were turning to stone and every moment that passed made him feel as though his head were being submerged in water.

His captors, in the meantime, were having a jolly good laugh at his expense.

 "Look how scrawny he is!" One voice jeered, poking Asta roughly in the stomach, "I'll bet the Headmaster has it all wrong about him; he's too weak to tame any Monster!"

 "Here now!" Asta yelled indignantly, his voice muffled by the cloth, "If you're going to talk bad about me, at least do it behind my back."

 But the boys paid him no heed and instead dragged him off to wherever they planned to go. At this turn of events, Asta found that rather than being frightened, like any sensible person would have been, he was annoyed instead; in part because they were possibly going to hurt him, but mostly because he was missing art class.

Finally, one of the boys — who Asta instantly recognized as the voice of Kyrin— spoke. "I think Asta fancies a swim in the lake."

"Really?" Asta piped up, "Tossing me in the lake is the best you've got?"

 "Why? Are you picky about how you get eaten?" 

 "Not particularly, no. I don't MIND being thrown in the lake, I just think it's horribly unoriginal of you and I'm beginning to see that you aren't very good bullies, that's all."

 "Shut up!"

 "Shutting up."

Feeling himself being turned upright, Asta waited while Kyrin pulled the hood off his head and found himself staring sleepily at the murky depths of the lake.

 Oddly enough, he was rather calm about the entire ordeal... and a little bit hungry, but that was beside the point.

 "Any last words?" Kyrin hissed maliciously.

 Asta nodded, his body heavy from the sleeping potion, his words slurring as he said, "Yes. You're all a bunch of bloody—"

His body hit the water before he could finish.

                                      .............................

Adar roamed the gardens, realizing he was missing class, then realizing that that would serve to annoy his father even more than anything else he could think of.