Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 5: Separate Ways
Hage Outskirts, Clover Kingdom, Forsaken Realm (Morning)
(6 Months Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
Yuno was standing at the podium in the main chapel, with everyone else in the benches before him.
"Everyone, thank you for coming." Yuno speaks out. "It's been a few days ever since Asta had died," Yuno tries to hold back his emotional pain, with everyone else keeping it bottled up. "... and the fact that we all saw an... actual demon,"
The temperature in the chapel plummets.
Yuno regains composure. "... but regardless, the reason why I called you here is to tell you the honest truth." He gulps loudly. "Asta's dead, we all saw a demon take him away, but that's why I have to tell you something very important."
Yuno takes a breath. "In six months, I will leave this village to take the Magic Knights Entrance Exams, and once that happens, I won't be around to protect you guys."
"So what are you suggesting, Yuno?" Father Orsi asked.
"I'm telling everyone to start pulling their own weight, and if possible, start training your magic for other then basic uses."
"He's right." Nash speaks out. "With Asta getting killed by a bandit, everyone in Hage is basically sheep waiting to be snatched by the wolves."
"What about the Magic Knights?" Father Orsi protested. "Are they the ones who come and handle security throughout Clover Kingdom?"
"Did they ever come when me and Asta were attacked?" Yuno replied.
Father Orsi goes quiet again.
Yuno sighs briefly. "At this rate, there's bound to be more attacks like that, and as usual, the chances of there being any Magic Knights nearby to intervene is very slim." Yuno shakes his head sideways. "Now, I'm not saying that the whole institution itself is inherently evil, so you may be asking, 'why are you bringing this up if you're planning to head to the Clover Capital for the Magic Knights Entrance Exams?'" Yuno takes a breath before continuing to speak. "It's simple really."
"I'm going to become Magic Knight so that I can become the next Wizard King so that I can change the whole institution for the better."
Everyone in the main chapel goes quiet in shock.
Yuno's ambitions were beyond lofty. And for someone who was hailing from the Forsaken Realm in the Clover Kingdom to say such thing was outright heresy.
But then again, he does have a four-leaf clover grimoire. That was his literal golden ticket to a higher status, so no one would even question him. And even if they did, Yuno's the type of person who doesn't cave in to something like peer pressure.
Even in death, Asta's heart still beats on in Yuno's own.
"So, are any of you with me?" Yuno questioned.
Nash stands up from his seat. "I've already said once, Yuno-nii." He then bares out a toothy grin. "I'm with you."
"Count me in too, Yuno." Sister Lily spoke out. "If it's for the sake of these children's safety, then I'll have to pick up where Asta left off." She smiles through the pain of her bruise on her stomach.
"I'm in. So that I can atone for my grave failings as a foster parent. Until my body become dust and my soul returns to the Almighty from the above, Yuno, I'll support you, all the way, even after the end." Father Orsi's spoke with a solemn tone.
"I want to help, Yuno-nii-chan!" Recca chimed out.
"Me too! Me too!" Aruru also chimed out.
Yuno closes his eyes before the sole entrance of the chapel bursts open, revealing a girl similar in Yuno's age, with side-plaited auburn hair, simple leaf-green tunic with white leggings and knee-high leather boots, and around her belt was a lime-green and maple-red colored grimoire.
"Um, I'm sorry, but just who are you?" Yuno spoke towards the girl from the open door.
"Yuno!" Father Orsi cried out. "That's the Hage Village Lord's daughter!"
"Please, no need for such formalities." The heaved out. "Regardless, I've heard every last word, and I wholeheartedly agree with you, Yuno-san." The girl then enters the main chapel.
"Wait, so you know what happened to Asta?" Nash asked.
"I would deny such accusations, but after seeing that... thing for myself, I now have no other choice but say yes, I am partially aware on what's going on with you folk." The village lord's daughter then takes a seat on one of the benches in the chapel.
"So how did you-"
"I used [Leaf Creation Magic: Shrub Cloak] to blend into my surroundings after I heard something crumbling nearby after the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony." The girl then shudders for a moment. "I swear, I think that... thing actually noticed me hiding nearby, but it just ignored me and focused itself solely on that corpse."
"That 'corpse' you were referring to was my brother." Yuno spoke in an ice-cold tone.
"... My condolences and also my sincerest apologies." The girl bows her head in shame.
"Accepted." Yuno sighs. "So the fact that you've overheard our conversation means that you must have a reason for coming here in the first place."
"Correct." The girl spoke. "I would've told my father or the rest of the villagers, but they would probability call me mad and possibly run me out of the village."
"Considering what we ran into that time and how unreal it was, I cannot blame you, young miss."
Despite the rough first impressions that the lord's daughter had made, Yuno smiles at the prospect that his words reached to someone else from outside of the church.
"Excuse me." Yuno calls out to the girl. "Can I ask for your name?"
The girl smiles warmly.
"Juniper Hage. But please, call me June."
Demon's Hideout (Morning)
It was unreal for Astaroth to see the Fallen Angels's logistical operations in motion.
Bows were restrung and maintained diligently, arrows were handcrafted and tipped with sharpened bone and stone arrowheads, tags of discarded paper from discarded grimoires were cut up and weird symbols were being written on it by their own blood, putrid mixtures of herbs, poisonous mushrooms, and animal feces were being procured into small wooden containers for some reason, and old magic tools were being repurposed into makeshift spikes or crude weapons.
Simply put, he was in awe for how resourceful they were.
"Impressed, milord?"
"And you guys have been doing this... for how long, exactly?" Asta asked.
"We were doing this for about... a thousand years or so?" Claudius chuckled. "It was a long road of constant trial or error, but we would've even thought of doing it so in the first place, if it weren't for your preincarnation's efforts."
Asta scratched his head for a moment before remembering something. "Oh yeah, Roth did mention that he took Ravager from someone called an... elf?"
"Ah yes." The Fallen Angel spoke. "From that sword, we began to learn the arts of craftsmanship. And as I mentioned previously, it was no small feat for us."
"Yeah..." Astaroth trails off, now realizing about where it went. "Hold on a sec, where did you take Ravager to?"
"It was dulled over centuries of unuse, so we are sharpening it the best we can by the river." Claudius then grits his teeth slightly. "Assuming if the damn thing can even be sharpened back into a proper edge in the first place..."
"Something wrong?"
"Don't sweat the details, milord. We have more important things to go over." Claudius motions the four Fallen Angels to get back to sharpening the gigantic slab of rusted metal with smooth-surfaced rocks.
"Now then..." The Fallen Angel turns toward Astaroth. "We might want for you to... cover up."
"Eh?" Astaroth looks around his body garbed in similar black attire that the Fallen Angels were wearing. "You know that I'm not naked, right?"
"True." The Fallen Angel said. "But a prince heading to war needs a suit of armor. But, good news is, we have a whole set being assembled, which will be completed in a few months." Claudius then gestures Astaroth towards another tunnel entrance, leading them into a large cave with a rounded ceiling. "So while we wait, I'd first like to give you this to you."
Placed onto Astaroth's hands, a dirty grimoire was there.
"... A grimoire?"
"I suggest you look closer and see how many leaves are on that clover, milord."
One, two, three, four...
Five.
There are five leaves on the clover.
"So milord, do you know what each leaf represents on the clover?" Claudius questions.
"Uhh... let's see." Astaroth then begins to dig through his admittingly painful memories. "The first leaf represents faith... the second represents hope, while the third represents love." He then remembers that Yuno received a four-leaf. "Uhh... so Claudius, what does the fourth leaf represent?"
"Apparently, I've heard rumors that it represents 'luck'. As if it's to symbolize the fortune of receiving a power equivalent to the first Wizard King." He deadpanned. "Honestly, this may be rich coming from a Fallen Angel, but even I find that choice of motif lazy."
Astaroth himself had nothing to say to that statement specifically. "So, two questions."
"I'm all ears, milord."
"So first, what is the first Clover King's name?" Astaroth asked. "I mean, you were around during that time, right?"
"I honestly don't know myself." The Fallen Angel spoke out. "But during King Apocrypha's rampage across the mortal plane, there was one mortal who stood up to our king, and someone vaguely made out the words 'My name is Alpha Rune'." The Fallen Angel palms his face with both of his hands. "If that's his real name, I swear to our king, I'm going to kill whoever named that guy, because I utterly refuse to believe we were driven back by a man with such an awful name."
"I think its cool." Astaroth blurted out.
"I am in no position to judge, milord. So I shall not." Then Claudius sits on the stone floor, cross-legged. "Now your second question?"
"Oh right." Astaroth then asks his second question. "What does the fifth leaf represent on this clover?"
"Personally speaking, we just put that as our trademark." Claudius bluntly spoke out. "But..."
"But what?"
"... Continuing on the clover's analogy of faith, hope, love, and luck, methinks just found a fitting meaning for the fifth leaf as of now."
"WHAT!? WHAT IS IT!?" Astaroth's eyes begin to twinkle like stars.
"... Fate." Claudius uttered.
"Fate?"
"Yes... FATE!" He springs up to his feet and shoots up both of his arms into the air.
"FATE! THE FATE OF HUMANITY IN OUR PRINCE'S FINGERTIPS! FATE OF OUR DESTINED VICTORY! FATE THAT SPELLS DEFEAT TO THOSE HUMANS THAT HAVE FORGOTTEN US!"
Claudius slams both of his hands onto Astaroth's shoulders. "Fate... that is you, my prince, the one that shall bring this misguided era of false whims and errant wills of mortals to an end." His fish-eyes light up like the morning sun. "And I, Claudius Nero Bael, with all of my power, will make sure that your fate leading us Demons towards our victory, becomes reality."
"... Yeah." Astaroth nods. "We're going to save this world from itself."
"That's our prince. Now then..." Claudius then tosses Astaroth a wooden sword into his hands. "We have six months before our first assault within the Clover Kingdom begins. So until then, I myself will make sure that you're in fighting shape."
"So in other words..." Astaroth then feels a sense of dread chilling up his spine.
(6 Months Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"... Please do not hold this against me milord, for this is for your own good."
(5 Months Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
"[Wind Magic: Crescent Moon Sickle]!" A crescent blade of wind shoots towards the charging boar in front him, striking it dead.
"[Leaf Creation Magic: Blade Grass Sabre]!" A straight sword made of a literal blade of a single grass is formed in June's hands. She then skins the dead boar of its hide with said blade.
"Thanks to you kids, we'll have more than enough food for the whole village during wintertime." One of the village hunters spoke to the two.
"Never thought that we'd get help from a four-leaf and the village lord's daughter herself. Thanks to you guys, we got enough fur to sell to other villages along with out tatos and enough meat to smoke into jerky." The younger hunter spoke to June.
"It's nothing, really. We just happened to pass by." She smiled.
"We also thought that this could be a good extra training." Yuno then hogties the skinned boar by its ankles, and hangs it by a sturdy wooden rod. "Nash, can you pick up the front end and carry it with me?"
"Got it." Nash grabs the front end with Yuno holding up the rear.
"We're gonna miss ya kids when you're gone towards the capital..."
(5 Months Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"To your left."
"GAH!"
Astaroth parries the swing coming from his rear left, causing a lock between the two wooden blades, with the strike of the two swords echoing in the cavern.
"Impressive milord. You seem to be a fast learner in the art of close combat." Claudius's blade then presses harder against Astaroth's own.
"But can you worm your way, OUT OF THIS!?" Claudius flies upward, swoops over his head, and dive-bombs toward him, with his wooden sword pointing towards Astaroth.
Astaroth then parries the thrust with an angled horizontal swing, redirecting the attack's trajectory away from him.
"Impressive, milord." Claudius smiles as he brushes off his legs. He then flies back into the air, and floats in place, with his black wings spread wide open. "Now we can move onto aerial combat."
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"
(4 Months Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
The log splits as a blade of wind eats right through the center.
The weather is slowly getting chiller and chillier, with the fields now barren after harvest, the huts were spewing smoke from the door's cracks, curing boar meat into jerky, and a cart full of chopped trees was coming from the distance.
"Oi, Yuno!" One of the men yelled out. "Can you help those guys out unloading the cart with your [Wind Magic]?"
"Don't worry." June pops from one of the toolsheds. "[Leaf Creation Magic: Druid's Ax]." A gigantic bipartite leaf with sharp edges formed in her hands. "I'll take over until you're back, kay?"
"Thanks, June. You're a great help." Yuno then heads toward where the cart was.
(4 Months Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"Watch your left."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Astaroth crash-lands head-first into a solid stone wall, leaving a perfect silhouette of impact of his whole body after he slips off of said crack.
"You'll only get better as you slowly get used to moving in all directions!"
Astaroth gets up from the floor. "YEAH! I AIN'T DONE YET!" Astaroth spreads his jet-black wings and takes off...
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTT YYEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTT!"
... Only for him to crash head-first... into the cave's ceiling.
"Welp. At least his feet were off the ground for more than ten seconds."
(3 Months Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
"31... 32... 33..." Next to the fireplace, Yuno was doing push-ups while everyone else was asleep.
Outside of the church, the whole village was blanketed in snow, there was no one outside, and night had settled in with a snowstorm.
The church windows were boarded shut to keep the winter wind out, there were a few sticks of candles lit inside lamps for illumination, and everyone else was quietly asleep.
Everyone except for Yuno... and Sister Lily.
"Ah! Sister!" Yuno whispered as he slips off of his hands after hitting 40.
"Oh Yuno..." Sister sighed out. "You can do that in the morning, you know that?"
Yuno picks himself off of the floor and heads to bed with everyone else reluctantly.
"If Asta was around to grow up with Yuno..." Sister kills the light from the lamp and heads back into her personal quarters.
(3 Months Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"Ai-ai-ai-ai-ai-I'm freezing my balls off out here!" Astaroth chattered through the blizzard with icicles hanging on his nostrils.
The two Fallen Angels were meditating in the forest clearing outside of the fissure. With there being a blizzard at the dead of night, no human was foolhardy enough to set even a foot outside, let alone, enter a clearing, completely exposed to the brutal elements.
"Grin it and bear it milord." Claudius speaks, not even fazed by the subzero temperatures around him. "Plus it would be very unfitting for the next Demon King to meet his end because of a measly frostbite to his testicles."
"Y-Y-YOU'RE RIGHT!" Astaroth braces himself in the gnawing cold once more. "N-N-N-NOT YEEEEEEEEEEEETTT!"
The blizzard howling around them begins to grow even more intense.
(2 Months Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
The freshly fallen snow crumbled under Yuno's feet.
The winter winds finally began to cease, everyone was coming out of their homes, shoveling or clearing snow from their front yards, and Yuno himself was jogging through the snowy fields with a bundle of chopped wood tied onto his back.
Next to him was Nash, who was keeping pace with him, with an equally-sized bundle of logs on his back.
"Yuno! Nash!" In front of the two, Sister Lily was dashing towards them.
"Hey Sister." Yuno spoke out. "I brought firewood from the merchants from the other villages."
"I helped too." Nash beamed. "Also, carrying these doesn't tire me out as it used to."
Sister smiles at the two as she embraces them. "You two have grown up so fast..." She then looks toward the sun rising out of the pure white clouds with a single tear dripping .
"Asta... if only you were here with us now..."
(2 Months Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
Astaroth and Claudius were clashing wooden blades again, but this time, the Fallen Angels were evenly matched, both on land and in air.
"Impressive milord." Claudius breaks off from their blade. "In a span of a handful of months, you've managed to master the fundamentals of melee combat." He then tosses his sword to the side. "And with that, we now conclude our sword sparring."
Astaroth plops down onto his back. "Finally, a break-"
A fist is slugged onto Astaroth's stomach, knocking all of the air out of his lungs.
"I didn't say that we were done." Claudius extends his hand toward Astaroth, pulling him off the ground. "Now we move on to hand-to-hand combat."
Claudius raises his fists towards Astaroth. "So grit teeth, milord. I guarantee that this will hurt you more than all the things that I've done previously."
Astaroth grins. "BRING IT ON!"
(1 Month Until Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
"Just what are you doing here, Juniper?" A young man's voice is heard from the front of the church.
Yuno heads out the door and sees June confronting a man in his early-twenties with similar-colored hair, clothes, and grimoire around his belt.
"Nii-sama." June speaks in an irritated tone. "Shouldn't you be back home, screwing with your botany projects?"
"Umm, excuse me." The two in front of Yuno turn their heads towards him.
"Ah, Yuno-kun." June speaks out. "Sorry to drag to you into my personal affairs at this time."
"So you're the 'Yuno' that I've heard about." The auburn-haired man approaches toward Yuno. "The four-leaf that everyone's been talking about and my sister's peasant companion." He spoke in a mildly hostile tone.
"Just what do want from me?" Yuno asks the older man.
"I've rumors that a four-leaf was apparently been around my younger sister for these past few months."
"Wait, younger sister?"
June sighs in exasperation. "This is Rowan Hage, the next lord of the Hage Village, and my elder brother."
Rowan glares at Yuno. "I care not that you're a four-leaf. No one is taking my sister away, let alone a peasant!" He opens his grimoire, readying himself for combat. "If you want to take my sister away, then you're going to have to get past me!"
Yuno turns to June with a concerned expression.
"Kick his ass." June replied with a deadpan tone.
"Now taste the power of my [Seed Magic]!"
One Painfully Short "Bout" Later...
"... I gave you my word, four-leaf. She's all yours." Rowan spoke while he was flat on his back.
"I have name you know." Yuno crouches down to the fallen Rowan. "And it's Yuno."
"Please forgive my idiot brother." June apologizes. "He means well, but gets a little bullheaded at times."
"It's fine, really." Yuno then extends his hand to Rowan.
"My sister always had dreams of becoming a Magic Knight." Rowan takes Yuno's hand, picking himself off the ground. "Whereas I was too yellow-bellied to even set one foot out of the village. My sister on the other hand, well, from the looks of it, I can't keep her tied down here anymore, can I?"
"Does that mean?" June eyes brighten at her prospects.
"Our father Elm Hage has already given you his blessings, sister. It's just that he sent me to test the four-leaf-I mean Yuno's resolve." Rowan stuttered. "And congratulations, Yuno. Hage village is now supporting you all the way."
Yuno smiles as he looks at the church orphans behind him. "I won't let you down."
(1 Month Until Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"Milord!" Claudius rushes toward Astaroth, while the Fallen Angel Prince was doing push-ups with rocks tied onto the back of his wings.
"... 997... 998... 999... 1000!" Asatroth then hops up to his feet. "What is it, Claudius?"
"Your suit of armor is now finished!"
Astaroth's eye sparkle like stars again.
"THAT'S AWESOME! LEMME SEE! LEMME SEE! LEMME SEE!" The Demon Prince of war was now acting like a kid having free reign at a confectionery store.
"Soothe your excitement, milord." Claudius then gestures the Demon Prince towards the main cave, where a shrouded stand was sitting at the other end of the cavern.
Astaroth dashes toward the obscured stand and pulls down the drape, revealing a set of obsidian-black, full-body, plate armor adorned with spikes, chainmail underneath the armor as base, and a tattered red cape with the five-leaf black clover on the back.
"So, is this armor to your liking?" The Fallen Angel asked Astaroth.
"IT'S SO BADASS!" His eyes sparkled like the stars in the night skies, par for course.
"You've outdone yourself yet again, Phenex." Claudius complimented.
"All part of my duty as an artisan, Commander Bael." Phenex bowed.
Astaroth was still admiring the armor with starstruck eyes, as if he was experiencing his second childhood.
"CAN I TRY IT ON!? CAN I!? CAN I!? CAN I!?" Astaroth begged.
"We will..."
Astaroth's hype skyrockets.
"... after doing 3 rounds of aerial combat sparring, a thousand sit-ups with your toes clinging onto the cave ceiling, and a 5 hour meditation under the cave's waterfall, while floating directly under it."
Before said hype plummeted back down on the cold, hard earth below.
"YOU CAN BE SUCH A DEMON, YOU KNOW THAT!?"
"That, I take in pride greatly, milord." Claudius smiles as he charged toward Astaroth with his wooden practice sword.
(The Month of Magic Knights Entrance Exam)
Daylight slowly begins to rise from the window, all the snow outside has melted away, revealing bright emerald-green grass, and the Yuno's journey to become the next Wizard King.
Not only for the church, or Hage. But for the sake of keeping Asta alive in his heart.
Yuno's belongings were packed the night before, cleans himself up, finishing his breakfast, and taking his belongings with him, Yuno heads out the door, and meets Juniper/June with her sack around her back, waiting for him.
"I would say the cliche 'you're late' line, but you came out on time, so I won't." She smiled.
"Well, might as well get there early." The two then hit the road, but not after Nash comes rushing from behind them.
"YUNO-NII!" Nash then throws a tin canteen to Yuno's hands. "IT'S MOGURO LEAF JUICE! I BOUGHT IT WITH THE YULES THAT I SAVED UP FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS!"
Yuno gives a thumbs up as he proceeds down the road with June.
"YOU BETTER WAIT FOR ME, YUNO! I AIN'T LETTING MY TRAINING FROM THE PAST SIX MONTHS GO TO WASTE, YOU HEAR ME!?"
The two then head out towards the open road as Hage Village becomes smaller and smaller the further they go.
During their hike to the capital, Yuno uncaps the tin bottle and takes a small sip from it before putting it away around his pack.
"So, how did it taste?" June asked.
Yuno smiles nostalgically.
"Disgusting."
(The Month of Ars Goetia's First Assault)
"Ladies, gentlemen, milord. I thank you for all of you for gathering here for our briefing." Claudius addressed the fifty-plus Fallen Angels gathered around him. "For the last six months, twenty of our companions ventured out to the mortal world above us, and they bring good tidings for us."
"Then what is it!?" "Are we finally going to kill some mortals!?" "Is it time to put our long-awaited training to good use?"
"Everyone, everyone, EVERYONE!" The audience goes quiet. "I finally confirmed the target's location and the exact time that all of their associates are going to gather in one place."
The Fallen Angels cheer at their new prospects.
"Umm, excuse me." Astaroth spoke out. "But what is the 'target' that you guys were talking about?"
"Ah, it seems that I was too focused on training you that it seemed to slipped my mind. My humblest apologizes." Claudius bowed slightly.
"Just tell me already!" Astaroth spoke firmly.
"Of course." Claudius composes himself before uttering their first "target".
"Our first target... is the Eye of the Midnight Sun."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Hoo boy...
Shit is about to hit the f*cking fan, folks.
So the introduction of my "human" OCs, Juniper Hage (Major character), and her older brother, Rowan (Minor character), how do you like the village lord's kids?
I have a headcanon that the Village namesakes are actually from the small-time nobles that own the patch of land where the village resides in the first place.
Prepare to see the likes of "Lunettes Village" or "Lugner Village", for I'm going to rip the Black Clover roster a fresh new asshole for them to shit out of.
On the side note, I should probably list on how the OCs sound like (for funsies):
Roth: Shun Horie (JPN), Greg Ayres (ENG)
Claudius Nero Bael: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (JPN), Kyle Hebert (ENG)
Juniper Hage: Yoshino Nanjo (JPN), Wendy Powell (ENG)
Rowan Hage: Daisuke Ono (JPN), Scott Gibbs (ENG)
So what do think?
Leave a comment, for I'd like to hear what you guys think about this chapter.