"Hey Saru, are you sure you want to keep carrying Secre? If you're tired, I can hold her for you," Noelle said sweetly, though her eyes were locked on Secre with an obsessed sparkle.
At the front of the group, Saru strolled along the unexplored stone corridor with his hands behind his head, looking completely bored. The little anti-magic bird, Secre, rested peacefully on his head.
Trailing behind them was Luck, humming a cheerful tune to himself, not a care in the world.
"Huuuh, why did that stupid Yami send me with you bunch of troublemakers?" Saru complained loudly, sighing in an overly dramatic fashion. "I told him I could handle this whole thing by myself!"
"You're the troublemaker here!" Noelle and Asta shouted in unison, veins popping on their foreheads.
Noelle flipped her hair with a haughty look. "Captain Yami said if he sent you alone, you'd probably blow up the whole dungeon — and all the treasures inside!"
Saru only clicked his tongue and kept walking ahead, clearly not interested in arguing.
As they bickered, the corridor suddenly opened up into a massive, sprawling hall with countless paths leading in every direction — some even spiraling up into the ceiling.
"WHOOOOOOOAA!!" Asta shouted, stars practically bursting from his eyes.
"The mana here... it's way stronger than anything outside," Luck said, grinning as the hairs on his arms stood up.
"I've never seen a place so full of mana before," Noelle murmured, wide-eyed.
Asta was thrashing around in frustration, chewing on his collar. "Ughhh, I'm so jealous! You guys can feel mana, and I can't feel squat!"
But before he could flail too far, Saru casually grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back like a naughty puppy.
"H-Huh??" Asta blinked.
"This place is packed with traps," Saru said, laughing casually, his golden eyes gleaming faintly with amusement.
"Eh?! Where?!" Asta spun around frantically. "Wait, don't tell me — you can feel the mana too?!"
"No, you moron," Noelle said sharply, crossing her arms. "There's no sign of traps anywhere. You're making it up again!"
"You don't believe me?" Saru said, sounding genuinely offended.
With an evil glint in his eye, Saru suddenly hurled Asta straight ahead like a cannonball.
"WHAAAAAA!!!" Asta screamed as he flew — and just as he landed, a hidden magic circle lit up beneath him.
BOOM!Massive ice columns erupted from the ground, aiming straight for Asta's head.
"Wha—!!" Asta reacted instantly, yanking out his Demon Slayer Sword and slashing the ice apart mid-air, scattering frozen shards everywhere.
Landing with a grunt, he whirled around, furious. "WHAT THE HELL, SARU?! I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!!"
Meanwhile, Saru was rolling around laughing, kicking his legs in the air, while Luck burst into giggles next to him.
"Pfft— Ahahahahaha! His face! Did you see his face?!" Saru cackled, wiping tears from his eyes.
Noelle could only sigh deeply, one hand over her forehead. "I should've stayed home."
With Saru now fully energized after pulling his stunt on Asta, he turned toward Luck with a wicked grin.
"Hey, hey, Luck! Bet I can dodge more traps than you!" Saru challenged, bouncing on his toes like an excited monkey.
Luck's eyes gleamed like a kid offered free candy. "Ohhh? You're on!!"
Before Noelle or Asta could even react, Saru and Luck bolted ahead, laughing madly, sprinting full speed through the massive hall.
BOOM!CRASH!ZING!
As they tore through the dungeon, magic traps exploded in their wake — lightning spears firing from the walls, massive spikes shooting from the floor, sudden bursts of freezing wind blasting through the corridors.
Saru somersaulted through a net of fiery wires, giggling, while Luck simply skipped across a collapsing floor trap like it was nothing.
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!!" Noelle screamed, dodging a stray ice shard that nearly skewered her hair.
"Stop setting off the traps, you idiots!" Asta cried as he barely deflected a flying boulder with his sword.
"Too slow! HAHAHA!" Saru yelled back, flipping off a falling stone like it was a playground game.
"More! More traps!" Luck cheered, blasting through a lightning trap with his magic crackling around him.
Meanwhile, Noelle had to keep creating water shields just to protect herself and Asta from the chaos.
"This is the WORST mission ever," Noelle muttered furiously, her eye twitching as she blocked another burst of flame.
Somehow, despite the explosions and destruction, Saru and Luck were having the time of their lives, treating the death traps like a fun obstacle course.
"COME ON, SLOWPOKES!" Saru shouted back, waving at them with both hands. "YOU'LL MISS ALL THE FUN!"
"SHUT UP, YOU CRAZY MONKEY!" Asta and Noelle yelled in unison.
"This is great!" Luck laughed, a wild glint in his eyes.
"This is awesome!" Saru whooped, springing high into the air, doing a backflip just for the fun of it.
Suddenly, Luck landed in front of Asta, staring at him with stars practically glowing in his pupils. "That anti-magic weapon of yours is really something! Maybe that's why the Wizard King sent you?" he said excitedly, almost bouncing on his heels.
Before Asta could respond, Luck's expression shifted. His smile faded, replaced by a rare serious look as he closed his eyes briefly.When he opened them again, his grimoire hovered beside him, flipping open rapidly.
"Lightning Creation Magic: Holy Lightning Boots!"Bright lightning surged around his legs, condensing into a pair of crackling, gleaming boots.
Luck leaped high into the air, hovering for a moment as he looked down at the group — mainly at Saru, grinning.
"Something important just came up," he said casually, as if he wasn't about to ditch them. "You guys go ahead and explore the dungeon. Hey, Saru, look after the newbies, will ya?"
Before anyone could argue, Luck blasted off with a boom of lightning, disappearing into the twisting passages at insane speed.
"Wha— What is he thinking?!" Noelle cried, flabbergasted, her voice echoing against the stone walls.
"That was so cool!" Asta shouted, his eyes sparkling as he clenched his fists in excitement.
Meanwhile, Saru just stood there, arms crossed, an annoyed tick mark appearing on his forehead.
"Hey, hey, why do I have to take care of you two?!" Saru yelled, pointing dramatically at Asta and Noelle, who both stared at him with matching deadpan expressions.
Secre, perched calmly on Saru's head, chirped quietly — as if she, too, was unimpressed.
"Why do I have to be stuck with you two..." Noelle muttered under her breath, sighing heavily as she cautiously stepped forward.
The moment her foot hit a suspicious patch on the ground, a magic circle flared to life.Without warning, thick, thorny vines shot out from the floor, wrapping around her legs and arms, yanking her into the air.
"HUH—!!" Noelle shrieked, completely caught off guard as she dangled helplessly, struggling to break free.
Meanwhile, Saru immediately collapsed onto the ground, rolling around and laughing uncontrollably."HAHAHAHAHA! Noelle, I can see your undies!" he howled, slamming his palm on the floor in pure amusement, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
Asta, panicking, rushed forward with his sword drawn. "Hold on, Noelle! I'll save you!"But as soon as he tried slashing the vines, another hidden trap activated. New vines shot out, wrapping around Asta and hoisting him into the air right beside Noelle.
"GYAAAHHH!!" Asta yelled, struggling frantically.
Saru, instead of helping, was now teasing both of them, pointing and laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN MONKEY!" Noelle screamed, her face beet red as she struggled to pull down her skirt — but her arms were pinned tight by the vines.
Suddenly, the air trembled.
A fierce gust of wind whirled through the hall, sharp as blades. A series of clean, rapid slashes cut through the plant creature's vines in an instant.
Noelle and Asta dropped to the ground with a thud — free, but dazed.
Saru's jaw dropped in awe, stars shining in his golden eyes."Woaaaahhh, soooo coool!!" he gasped, spinning around to find the source of the attack, completely forgetting how much trouble he'd just caused.
Secre, still perched calmly on his head, let out a small chirp — almost like a sigh.
As the vines were shredded into nothing, Noelle and Asta tumbled hard onto the stone floor with loud thuds, groaning in pain.
Saru, however, wasn't paying attention to them anymore. His golden eyes gleamed as he stared excitedly at the source of the attack. From one of the branching passages ahead, three figures slowly emerged through the swirling dust and debris.
At the front walked a boy with short, spiky black hair and an unmistakably cool aura.Asta's eyes widened immediately."Yuno!" he gasped, scrambling to his feet.
Standing tall, Yuno flicked his cloak back dramatically and said, in his usual calm tone, "I have repaid the favor, Asta."
But before the moment could properly sink in, there was a sudden gust of wind — and Saru had already zipped across the hall, appearing right in front of Yuno's group faster than anyone could react.
"Hey, hey!" Saru chirped loudly, bouncing in place with boundless energy. "You're that show-off guy, right? What's your name again? Zuno? Bruno??" He squinted, tapping his chin as if thinking very hard. Then his face lit up proudly like he had just solved the biggest puzzle of his life."Yes! I got it! Kuro!" Saru declared, grinning ear to ear, clearly waiting for applause.
Yuno twitched.
"It's Yuno," he corrected flatly, his calm slipping as an annoyed vein popped on his forehead.