Asta

"I'm going to be the Wizard King! This is something I'll never give up on!"

Asta (アスタ) is an orphan raised under the care of a church in Hage after his mother abandons him on the church's doorstep. After turning 15 years old, Asta receives a five-leaf clover grimoire with an Anti Magic devil inside. He joins the Clover Kingdom's Black Bull squad of the Magic Knights and becomes a 1st Class Senior Magic Knight and temporarily a Royal Knight.

Appearance
Asta is a young man of short stature with an exceptionally muscular build. He has green eyes and messy, ash blond hair with bangs in front of his forehead and a single strand protruding upwards from the center of his head. He keeps his hair together with a black headband, which has the gold-colored Black Bull insignia and has a red-colored four-pointed star with three stitches on the back of it. He has numerous scars all over his body from his strenuous physical training and a large scar on his abdomen where one of Mars's Harpes pierced him.

Asta's common outfit consists of a plain-white tunic with a V-shaped collar underneath a dark blue jacket whose sleeves extend only up to his elbows. He sports a pair of matching shorts which has a stitch marks on the left side. His pants also extends just below his knees. His shoes are made out of two different cloths, the parts covering his ankles, the soles the same color as his jacket and pants. The parts covering his toes are white, a vertical stitch mark going from the bridge to his toes.

After receiving his grimoire, Asta wears a pouch strapped to a brown leather belt. Additionally, as a member of Black Bull, he wears his squad's signature robe, which is black and short with gold trimming and covers the upper half of his torso. It also has a hood and a gold-colored button located at the right-hand side to hold it together, while the left-hand side displays the squad's insignia.

After six months of training in the Heart Kingdom, Asta has become more muscular. Additionally, he wears a black, tight-fitting shirt that covers his shoulders, upper arms, and some of his chest. It is open in the middle and has a gold clover on the right side. Over this, he wears a modified version of his squad's signature robe draped over his left shoulder and attached by a red cord that wraps around his neck. His headband has three red-colored, four-pointed stars on the front right side and the Black Bull insignia on the left. He also wears a pair of black, high-waisted pants that are tucked into knee-high boots and a large, brown, double-pronged belt, from which hangs his grimoire pouch.

After making a bargain with Liebe, Asta's right arm is permanently corrupted. His arm is black with blood red cragged markings, while his fingers are blood red with black cragged markings and black fingernails. After forging an equal contract with Liebe, a dark-colored marking appears around his left wrist. The marking is two thin, spiked lines with demonic lettering between the lines.

In his Black Asta form, his right arm is covered in black Anti Magic, a black wing sprouts from his right shoulder, a black horn sprouts from the right side of his head, his upper right canine tooth elongates, and his right eye turns red with the pupil becoming slit-like. As he draws on more Anti Magic, more of his body is covered, additional horns form on his head, his lower right canine tooth elongates, his right hand and foot transform into claws, a smaller wing sprouts from his left shoulder, and a tail grows from his back.

Personality
Asta generally is cheerful and hyperactive. He tends to shout to express his thoughts and goals, much to the annoyance of some of those around him, and often in spite of other people's opinions. One of the first examples of this is when he conveyed his goal of becoming a Wizard King during the Magic Knights entrance exam, and told other people who jeered at him to be quiet. Asta's simple yet outgoing personality is frequently played to comedic effect during more serious situations. However, his strong tenacity interests Yami Sukehiro enough to recruit him into his ranks, and his determination also leads him to possess an indomitable will. Asta's determination to never give up, added with his own steel fortitude during grueling or harsh battles, is a trait that becomes the basis for others to acknowledge him, such as Magna Swing. However, Asta has shown to have struggled accepting his lack of magic, using his boisterous attitude as a front to hide his insecurity. After having his arms broken and cursed by Vetto, Asta nearly slips into a depression before talking and forcing himself to continue pushing onward.

Because of his upbringing in the Forsaken region, Asta frequently receives cruel opinions and insults from almost everyone he meets. To counteract this, Asta appears to have developed a slightly sarcastic nature as he tries to defend himself. The regularity at which he's exposed to such degrading remarks is such that he now has a certain immunity to them, shown when he easily brushes them off without getting overly annoyed. However, Asta can still become irritated when others deeply insult his comrades; he will not hesitate to confront them as he tries to defend his friends.

Asta also has a very strong sense of justice, which is shown during his fight against Heath Grice, as he believes that everyone deserves to be protected. It is also not limited to only his comrades but his enemies as well, as noted when he asks his fellow squadmates to take the unconscious Mars along with them while the dungeon is collapsing. He argues that their mission is only to explore a dungeon as they are not ordered to kill any enemies. Therefore, Asta seems to see the positive side of everyone and never takes an insult too seriously, as seen when he still befriends both Yuno and Noelle Silva even after both had openly looked down on him. Even when Fana is trying to kill him and his allies with all her power, he attempts to reason with her as a means to understand and talk her down from her rage, showing consideration for nonviolent methods of solving conflict. He later continues to do this with the reincarnated elves, despite no success among repeated attempts.

However, Asta also believes that those that have done wrong should work to actively make up for their wrongdoings. He always holds his enemies accountable for their misdeeds, regardless if he has forgiven them or not. He requests that Neige spend time in prison before promising to become his friend. He later demands that the weakened Ladros apologize to and help all the people he has harmed. In another example, he puts Rades into a submission hold during their next meeting, nearly breaking his arm until the latter successfully convinces him that he will use his powers to help the people in the capital rather than for revenge.

His open, friendly, and non-judgmental attitude, indomitable will, and stubbornness has earned him the respect of almost everyone he meets, even nobles such as Klaus and Fuegoleon Vermillion. It has also earned him the affection of numerous girls, though his love for Sister Lily, combined with his somewhat dense personality, has made him largely oblivious of this fact. This love for Lily and obliviousness also make him somewhat chivalrous and non-perverted, as he absolutely refused to try to peek on the girls while bathing at the hot spring.

While an immensely endearing and honest person, who can win over people with his tenacity, Asta can come off as quite stupid to those around him. Asta is not exactly stupid but growing up in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere has left him ignorant of many things that others consider common knowledge and his headstrong nature makes him come across as the stereotypical muscle head with little to no brains. His naivete constantly leads him to blurt out things with little to no tact or care for the situation at hand, and his blind trust of people in the kingdom despite evidence to the contrary has made him very easy to fool, depending on the situation. His trusting, truthful nature has been taken advantage of by the courts and he nearly spoke his guilt without thinking of the consequences while he was on trial. He is also very ignorant about many things in the kingdom and on its functions which Magic Knights should know with most of his squadmates is that he does not know many simple things such as how corrupt the system ruled by the nobles really is which almost cost him and Marie their lives.

Magic

 * Anti Magic: Asta uses this unique energy to nullify magic. Despite not having the ability to use magic, Asta's control over his Anti Magic energy, as well as the very uniqueness of this power itself has earned him the rank of an Arcane Stage mage.

Abilities

 * Expert Swordsman: Asta initially has a rough style due to having an unconventional sword and having only received basic training from Fanzell Kruger. Over time he develops greater skill through battle experience, additional swords, and ki-sensing, as well as learning from his multiple battles alongside and against other magic swordsmen.


 * No Magic Power: Asta possesses no mana and so is unable to use magic. This enables Asta to wield Anti Magic without suffering the weakening effects since he has no magic to drain. This also makes him undetectable to mana-sensors, and immune to the life-draining substance of the underworld.


 * Enhanced Strength: Asta possesses a high level of physical strength, able to do a thousand single-handed handstand push-ups, to swing heavy swords single-handedly, and to punch holes in rock walls with no injury to himself. Asta can swing his swords with such force that his opponents break stone when they crash. The Witch Queen further enhances his arm strength using Blood Magic.


 * Enhanced Speed: Asta is capable of moving in an above-average speed, which causes William Vangeance to think that he has used magic to aid himself.


 * Enhanced Durability: Asta possesses a high durability, as seen when he is able to keep standing up, despite receiving numerous attacks from Heath. He is even able to emerge from Licht's attempted cave-in relatively unharmed alongside Yami.


 * Enhanced Instinct: Asta possesses a heightened level of instinct, as demonstrated when he can unconsciously move his body in the best way to defend himself.


 * Ki: A principle originating from Yami's homeland, Hino Country, this allows Asta to use a sixth sense and to perceive and react to unseen attacks and people.
 * Zetten: Asta is capable of manipulating his ki to build up and concentrate Anti Magic in his arm, subsequently releasing it as a swift downward slash that withered bamboo grown with magic power. He mastered the basics with the Ryuzen Seven, but perfected it with Yosuga, who described it as the Ultimate Counter to magic, so much so that it returned a Paladin to normal after concentrating it into his sword and striking him with it.


 * Keen Intellect: Despite his hyperactive and headstrong nature, Asta has shown to be intelligent and thoughtful in his own right. He understands many situations he finds himself in and can be tactical when needed such as cutting out curses with his swords and thinking of different tactics in battle. He is shown to be a fast learner, as he quickly learned to use Ki from Yami's guide in the middle of combat, as well as tapping into the dormant powers of the Demon-Slayer Sword by simply observing its original owner fighting.


 * Devil-Possessed: As a wielder of a five-leaf clover grimoire, Asta is connected to Liebe, who possesses Anti Magic, which grants him access to this energy. The more power he draws on, the more devil-like his appearance becomes. Asta agrees to a bargain with Liebe: his right arm in exchange for more of his power. This increase in power enables him to negate a Gravity Singularity and to coat additional weapons in Anti Magic; however, he is limited to 50 seconds of usage.
 * Unite: After undergoing the Devil-Binding Ritual, Asta forges a contract with Liebe to share power as equals, and after training for a couple of days, Asta and Liebe learn to Unite, which greatly enhances their Anti Magic abilities. Initially, their union has not been perfected and the transformation only lasts for about 5 minutes. As time elapses, the crossbars of the star on his chest expand into circles, indicating how much time he has left in the form. After the time limit is reached, Asta experiences excruciating full-body pain and must wait 30 minutes before he can use Unite or his black form again. If Asta and Liebe are forced out of Unite prematurely, then they can restart with the leftover time. After Asta learns the details of Liebe's past, the two share the same specific motivation, improving their union and greatly enhancing their Anti Magic abilities. By concentrating Union on one specific part of his body, rather than spread it evenly across his body, it becomes denser and stronger, and it extends the time limit to 10 minutes.

Equipment

 * Grimoire: Asta wields a five-leaf clover grimoire, which he receives during his fight with Revchi. The grimoire is tattered and filthy, a black five-leaf clover insignia at the center of its front cover. This clover symbol is largely unseen due to the dirt covering it, making most (including Asta) assume that the grimoire possesses unusual magic but is otherwise ordinary. His grimoire used to be a four-leaf clover grimoire that belonged to the elf Licht, before being corrupted by the devil Zagred and inhabited by the devil Liebe.


 * Anti Magic Swords: Asta is able to summon swords infused with Anti Magic from his grimoire. He uses these swords for various offenses that can nullify magic. The swords can cut through magic, but are reduced to blunt weapons when used to strike anything else.
 * Demon-Slayer Sword: Asta's first sword can be enlarged by extending Anti Magic from the edges of the blade, while the flat side of the sword can be used to deflect spells. After six months of training in the Heart Kingdom, Asta has gained the ability to remotely control the Anti Magic within the sword, allowing him to summon the sword back to himself by holding his hand open and calling its name, as well as ride it through the air.
 * Demon-Dweller Sword: Asta's second sword can release projected slashes of Anti Magic, allowing him to cut through spells from a distance. It can also borrow the magic from the people around him, allowing him to release slashes that possess the properties of other magic attributes. Besides Licht, only Asta can wield this sword because he possesses no mana, as other mages would not be able to use any magic while in contact with the sword and would have their mana reserves depleted.
 * Demon-Destroyer Sword: Asta's third sword possesses an ability known as Causality Break, which allows it to generate Anti Magic tendrils that can absorb and remove the aftereffects of spells. It can even negate Reincarnation Magic.
 * Demon-Slasher Katana: During their fight with Dante Zogratis, Yami Sukehiro lends Asta his katana. Asta's devil arm coats the sword in Anti Magic, enabling it to deal heavy damage to Dante and to knock him unconscious. Afterward, the sword enters and is stored in his grimoire. As Asta's fourth sword, it is capable of selective cutting, meaning it can release a slash that only damages the intended target without causing harm to what it wants to protect.

Trivia

 * Asta's favorite person is Sister Lily.
 * Assorted Questions Brigade Rankings:
 * Asta is the eleventh smartest Black Bull.
 * Asta is the second most muscular character.
 * Asta is the fifth worst singer.
 * Asta has the fifth worst skill and taste in art.
 * Asta ranked #1 in the first, second, third, and fourth popularity polls and #2 in the fifth and sixth.
 * In the VIZ popularity polls, Asta ranked #2 in the first and second and #1 in the third, fourth, and fifth.
 * Asta's grimoire design is the background for Volume 23's cover.
 * For the Tales of the Rays crossover, Cress Albane gets an Asta costume.

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