Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 9: Hell's Bells (Finale)
Gravitos Rock Belt, Eye of the Midnight Sun's Base Interior (Dawn; about 2 hours until daylight)
"I've made sure to hit the gaps between the platings, right!?" Raia questioned.
"You did, actually." Licht confirmed.
"He's literally has a puddle of his own blood beneath him, right?"
"Even if... when I catheterized his cuts with my flames... he's still bleeding out... I think..." Fana added.
"Yeah, he's still gushing out blood like a freshly-struck well of water."
"And I repeatedly blasted him with [Light Magic: Divine Ray of Judgement], which in total, hypothetically has enough firepower to fry an entire deserts in the Heart Kingdom to a field of glass, right?"
"I think I saw a few rocks melted to lava and some of it cooled to obsidian."
"Which, by the way, should've killed at least one Demon, right?"
".. You know, I'm just gonna say this on the behalf of all of us."
"I would like a say, as well."
"Me... too..."
"Alright then... three... two... one..."
"HOW THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN STILL ALIVE!?" The three yelled out in unison.
For the past two hours, the remaining members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun attacked the armored Fallen Angel with literally everything they had in their arsenal until their mana reserves went bone-dry.
Meanwhile, the Demons have just recently finished killing off every single member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun within this fortress, and now they're combing the whole area for any stragglers or salvage anything that can be repurposed into their use.
In front of them, the lone winged figure with the giant blade in his one hand and a battered/mutilated female figure wearing what's left of a pointed hat on his other hand.
"Tell me..." Licht whispered. "Why do you have that?"
"Gonna have to be more specific then that, pal." Astaroth deadpanned.
"THE SWORD, YOU BASTARD!" The leader roared out. "WHY DO YOU HAVE THE DEMON-SLAYER SWORD?"
"Oh, you mean this?" The Fallen Angel prince looks at the blade in his right. "Apparently, my preincarnation stole it from a dead... elf? I really can't remember. Been like about six months since I've heard much about it." He then points the sword towards the three. "And its name is Ravager, got it?"
"YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" The leader then flies toward Astaroth, with a murderous expression on his face and his hands pulling out a light-crafted titanic broadsword with a rounded tip from his grimoire. "[Light Creation Magic: Celestial Executioner's Blade]!"
The sword of light then sweeps toward the Fallen Angel.
"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Astaroth's and Licht's blades meet, but despite one sword being able to cut through any magic and the other sword being made of [Light Magic], the two swords locked into each other's blades.
"What the..." Astaroth mumbled. "I CALL BULLSHIT! I THOUGHT THAT RAVAGER CAN CUT THROUGH ANYTHING THAT IS MADE OF MAGIC!"
"Ah, but that's where you're mistaken, Demon." Licht spoke in a disturbingly calm tone. "For I am loved by mana, and this sword is the physical representation of said love. But I don't expect you, the one loathed by mana, would ever understand." The light of the blade then grows even bigger.
"Now perish as my beautiful love prevails over your barbaric hate." Astaroth then gets out of the blade's way, turning the tables completely in Licht's favor.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Astaroth parries every blow hailing above him with his own "Think! Think! Think! Just how is he swinging that giant-ass sword of his without losing mana!?" He then notices something neat Licht's hands.
The handle itself was not made of mana. It was an actual physical object.
"Alright." Astaroth tightens his grip around the handle of Ravager. "Only one shot at this..." Astaroth then charges forth once more.
"It's useless." The leader then winds his blade around his other shoulder.
Astaroth then ducks under the swing, then counterattacks with an angled upward swing with Ravager, towards Licht's wrist.
The sword of light falls onto the floor, revealing itself not as a magical construct, but as a regular longsword that was smaller than Ravager, yet, similarly looking with black rust covering its blade, and around its handle, was Licht's severed hand.
Licht then looks at his trembling stump.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
As the scream of agony reverabrated throughout the fallen fortress. Astaroth then pries the fallen sword from its cold fingers and his hands claim it as their own.
"REJOICE! BEHOLD THE HERALD OF THE END OF ALL MAGIC! THE LORD OF WAR, BRINGER OF CARNAGE AND DEATH UNTIL THE TWILIGHT OF CREATION... YOU NOW WITNESS PRINCE ASTAROTH'S ADVENT TO HIGHER POWER!" Claudius then suddenly comes out of nowhere. "Oh. Apologizes, milord. I've been saving that line specifically for this occasion."
"Wait, getting another sword that looks like Ravager calls for a celebration?"
"Why yes, milord." Claudius replied with an eager tone. "For collecting all nine of those blades are pivotal to our plan of cleansing this world of its mana."
And while the two were conversing, Raia decides to take this opportunity to use [Copy-to-Spatial Magic] to open up a small portal underneath Fana's feet with what little mana that he has left in him.
And she would've gotten away completely unnoticed,
"RAIA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING!?"
... If she just learned to shut that mouth of hers.
"AW SHIT!" Astaroth exclaimed. "SHE'S GETTING AWAY!"
"NOT IF I CAN HELP IT! APOLOGIZES FOR MY POSSIBLE TRANSGRESSIONS, MILORD!" Claudius then snatches Ravager from Astaroth's hands and throws the sword blade-first towards the escaping [Fire & Crystal Magic] user.
And he would've made his mark, if it weren't for the fact that Licht, with the last of his breath, threw himself into the sword's trajectory, taking Ravager's 14-inch-wide blade to the ribs.
"Licht..." Fana muttered upon seeing the leader impaled.
"FORGET ABOUT ME AND LICHT, FANA! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!" Raia shouted out desperately.
"LICHT!" Fana reached out in futility as she slowly sinks into the void below.
"Oh... shit." Claudius cursed.
"SOMEONE COMB THE WHOLE OUTSIDE AREA! WE'VE GOT ONE TANGO GETTING AWAY! I REPEAT! WE'VE GOT ONE TANGO GETTING AWAY!" Claudius relayed telepathically.
Astaroth then hears a few panicked voices and a various sounds of wings fluttering in a hurry.
"Now then..." Claudius then approaches the barely-breathing Licht, which he then proceeds to pull Ravager out of his sides. "Milord, the five-leaf."
"Oh, right." Astaroth then opens his grimoire, which then stores the bloodied Ravager inside of its pages. "Hey, Claudius."
"Yes, milord?" Claudius then drags the barely-conscious Raia by his hair.
"That guy called Ravager a Demon-Slayer Sword." He then points to the significantly smaller blade. "What's this called, then?"
"That milord, is called the Demon-Banisher Sword." Claudius coined. "And just like Ravager, it can also cut through anything magic related like hot knife through butter, but this one comes with a little extra."
"An... extra?" Astaroth questioned.
"Yes, like its name implies, this blade has the ability to separate a foreign spiritual entity from its host spirit. For example, should you see someone being possessed by someone else, just the mere touch of this steel can expel that intruder without issue, but that's all it can do at a hands of a mana-user. But for us Demons, it can do more."
"Like what?"
"How about you give it go at the leader?" He suggested. "However, do not kill him, for its effect can only activate if the target is still living."
Astaroth then gives a light tap with the flat of the blade onto Licht's head.
Licht then opens his eyes wide open. "Where... where did it go?" His breathing suddenly begins to spike to quickening levels. "WHERE DID MY [Light Magic] GO!?"
"You mind explaining this to me?" Astaroth asked.
"Oh yes." Claudius then clears his throat. "What that sword just did was turn off that mage's elemental affinity."
"Wait, what does that mean?"
"It means that the person can't use its grimoire, but they still constitute on having magic."
"So its like you having magic, but can't use it except for the bare basics."
"Exactly milord."
"You... Demons..." Licht heaved out from his chest wounds. "Just why are you doing this? Don't you see that our cause is just? That the real sinners are the humans living in the Clover Kingdom?"
"And you're expecting us to sympathize with your sorry excuse of a cause?" Claudius scoffed. "If you're going persuade us, then at least state your defense."
"Very well." Then the leader then begins to tell his story.
"Once, there were a race of people who were loved by mana. They were able to conjure storms, tame the wildest of natural elements at their fingertips, and the word of their might spread throughout the land, with people worshiping them as gods." Then Licht's tone goes dark. "However, as time went by-"
"Humanity became envious of their powers and eventually took it for themselves, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I've already heard that shit a thousand times before." Claudius then picks up Licht by his neck. "So, tell me. Who was it that attacked your people during the reception?"
"How did you-"
"Not important. Tell me now."
Licht then grits his teeth. "It was the humans-"
"Wrong answer." Claudius then throws him onto the floor. "I'll give a hint; the assailant's name rhymes with the word 'liar', and he's known you since childhood."
Licht's eyes then open up in shock upon the realization.
"Raia." He whimpered out. "PLEASE DON'T TELL ME AS SO-"
"Tch. Guess the jig's up, eh?" Raia grumbled. "Yep. It was me, Licht. I was the one who killed them." He spoke in a solemn tone.
"Why... WHY!?" Licht roared through his tears.
"Should I tell him for you?" Claudius asked the revealed traitor.
"Peh. At this point, he'll believe in anything. Go ahead."
"As you requested." Claudius then begins to tell the "true" story.
"Once, there was an elf woman living outside of her village. She was exiled from her birthplace for having a forbidden affinity. That affinity was [Dark Magic], which was scorned upon during her time. One day, she met another elf was also kicked out of his own village, and the two began traveling with each other, and eventually, they formed an unbreakable bond with one another."
He then sighs out a breath. "Then one night, the male elf was out in the rain gathering food, while the female was at her cottage, waiting for him to come back home. After waiting for hours, the man came back home, but something was... off about him."
"Can I tell him the rest?" Raia droned. "I think he needs it to hear this part from me."
"If you insist."
Raia then takes a breath. "My mother's actual lover was dead. In his place was a bastard wearing his hide. His name was Lupi, 'The Thousand Man'. One of the very few human magic-users at the time. A notorious bandit with a [Copy Magic] affinity that stole my would-be father's face, and after that, I was born into this world, without my mother's consent."
Everyone in the room had the look of utter horror on their faces. Even Claudius looked like that he was going to vomit.
"Yep, you've heard that right, Patry. Licht's and Tetia's union weren't the first bridge between humans and elves. In fact, the world's first half-elf born into this world was none other than me, between a union of an unwilling exile who lost the only thing that mattered to her in this world, and human sicko who just happened to be there at that exact time."
"But... if you were an half-elf, then surely, the others at the village would've noticed."
"True, but let's just say that I took a lot after my mother. Enough to keep you and your whole village fooled for over a decade or so. Hell, the only thing I got from that son of a bitch was his [Copy Magic] affinity and his gender." Raia spat out. "Anyway, for the first five years of my life, my mother did nothing but cry on the table, beat the crap out of me on occasion, and during my sixth birthday, she made me a birthday cake, and a noose for herself."
"Try putting the two and two together." Claudius told everyone else.
Licht's eyes then begins to tear up. "I'm so sorry that I didn't notice it sooner..."
"Don't be." Raia dryly replied. "After that, I took whatever was left in the house into a burlap sack and made my way towards wherever the wind took me."
His gaze then grows duller and duller. "On the road, I ran into a weirdo who was selling an assortment knickknack accessories. I didn't have nor knew money, so I ignored him. That would've been the case if he didn't grab my hand and place a weird looking red amulet into it. He says that the amulet that he gave me was meant to grant a miracle at your darkest times. I didn't believe anything that he said, but I'm not the kind of guy who would turn away a free item, so I let it sit in the bottom of my sack for a while."
Raia then looks towards Patry. "So tell me, can you recall the first time that we've ever met at the village?"
"Of course I could..." Patry then trails off as he realized that none of his memories of Raia were consistent. "Wait... why can't I?"
"Because it actually never happened."
Licht goes into shock once again.
"About my [Copy Magic], I just happened to run into another human mage, who just happened to have [Memory Magic], but its potency is only extended to making people forget a few details at a time. Perfect for a guy who tried to scam out passing travelers for his brewed snake oil, and hell, I tagged along with him for a good while. With the touch of his grimoire while he was occupied with another sucker, I copied and memorizing his magic and made a run for the hills while he himself had a lynch mob at his heels. With my elf heritage giving me larger mana reserves, I can now completely manipulate anyone's memories to suit my personal whims."
"So that's how you got into the village."
"Yep. All I had to do was brainwash a childless couple into thinking that I was their kid, and go around the village doing the same to everyone else." Raia smirked. "It was a pain in the ass, but at least I had a roof over my head, and for the next few years, all I had to do was lay low for the rest of my life and everything would've been hunky-dory."
Raia then lets out an exasperated sigh. "Then the talks of Licht marrying a human woman spread around the whole village, and as you can tell, it brought back very unpleasant memories for me." Raia's face then contorts into a twisted smile. "And I'm assuming that you're smart enough to figure the rest out for yourself."
Patry's face then twists into an expression of complete and utter horror and heartwrenching grief. "It was you that brought that rain of light on that day..."
"Nah. The rain wasn't from me." Raia objected. "I just sliced the bride and groom in two while wearing the first Wizard King's face and tried to make a run for it afterwards. Although where the did that rain come from, hell if I know."
Astaroth then looks at Claudius with a questioning look.
"No milord. Even I do not know where the rain came from. But one thing was for sure, it wasn't Alpha's."
He then scratches the back of his head. "But if it makes you feel any better Patry, I got my leg sliced off during the panic, and in my dying breaths, I decided to use that weird-looking red amulet that I had sitting in my pocket, and decided to grant myself the only wish that I could think of."
"Which is?" Astaroth asked.
"Basically kill every living thing in this world." Raia offhandedly scoffed.
"Should I tell him that part, Raia?" Claudius asked.
"Peh. Go ahead. About to be dead man here."
"In essence, that is how our King Apocrypha entered this world. And us Demons followed suit." Claudius informed. "What we didn't see coming, was that our king would be struck down by some human upstart-" Claudius stops himself before he could raise his voice. "Ahem, excuse myself, I almost lost myself there."
"You want me to take over, buddy?" Raia asked.
"If you insist."
"So to summarize; yes, I technically betrayed you and your village, I was the one who literally sold my soul to the literal devil that was later killed off by the first Wizard King, Alpha Rune, and during my time at here, I was secretly laughing my ass off on your pointless endeavors and your unchanged naivete." Raia then smirks at Patry, who was crying out a literal puddle. "But hey, water under bridge, right?"
"Two questions." Patry whispered.
"I'm all ears."
"Why did you let Fana go?"
"Because she was just as fucked up on the inside as me." Raia answered. "I mean, after being brought back into this timeline, I had to start over with my collection, but since you were the first one to introduce me to your little terrorist group, there were plenty of affinities to copy from, and surprise surprise, there was a [Memory Magic] in your flock." Raia then lets out a yawn. "So when I saw you bring a girl to this organization, I decided to take a little peek into her head. And hoo boy, the kind of shit I saw in her noggin almost made wanna puke. And I'll leave it at the fact that we're kind of a birds of a feather. Plus she's still young, and I wanted to protect her from the painful truth."
"So that's why..." Patry muttered. "Then here's my second question." He then sighs out. "Why couldn't you let go of your past and live with us in peace?"
Raia then burst out howling in laughter. Gradually, his laughter ceases into wheezes. "You, mister-I-want-to-kill-every-human-in-Clover-Kingdom-for-destroying-my-village, is telling me to let it go?" He then bursts out laughing again, rolling on his sides. The laughter ceases again, and Raia was coughing. "That's the most legitimately hilarious thing that I've ever heard in my literal two lives in this world, you fucking hypocrite." His tone goes from faux-jovial to maliciously deep.
"I am Raia, 'the Faithless'. That is true about me in every way possible. I had zero faith in both humanity and the elves. I was born as a corpse, lived as a vermin, fed on rotten meat off of its bones, manipulated everyone around me for my personal gain, and found meaning in absolutely nothing. The world around me can rot under feet for all I give two shits, every sound ringing in my ears can go silent for all I care, and every living thing in this pitiful world can die around me if I wished for it."
"In other words, a nihilist to the very core of its existence." Claudius commented.
"Can I pity him, Claudius? I don't want to dirty my hands on his non-existent blood." Astaroth spat out.
Patry said nothing.
"So, Bael. The contract." Raia sighed out.
"Yes, I am to condemn you soul to Hell, after all." Claudius spoke out.
"Wait, what?" Astaroth spoke.
"I was around this world before the king itself set foot onto it." He explained. "I frequently went to Hell and back freely, handing out soul contracts to desperate souls like him until King Apocrypha was reduced to a skull and the door itself was sealed away. Ever since then, me and the others outside of the gate were marooned here for the past millennium." He then turns toward the giggling madman. "So, I'll ask you one last time. Are you okay with your soul going to Hell?"
"Do as you please."
"Milord, permission to use your sword."
Astaroth then pulls out Ravager from his five-leaf and hands it to Claudius.
"Do you have any last words, Raia, 'the Hopeless'?"
He just smirks at the now-broken Patry/Licht.
"See you in Hell, buddy."
In the name our king, Apocrypha, the Hungry Joker.
I sentence Raia, "The Faithless", to an eternity in the Eighth Circle of Hell: Fraud.
Raia's head hits the ground as his body knelt at the same place.
The former leader of Eye of the Midnight Sun is now reduced to a pitiful state of mad laughter and blubbering tears as the world that built up for the past hypothetical millennium is crumbling around him.
"I think he completely lost it." Astaroth commented.
Patry then proceeds to bash his head into the stone floor, and continues to do so as his head begins to draw blood.
"Correction: he's already lost it." The Fallen Angel prince deadpanned.
"Would you like to do the deed yourself while I recite his sentence?" Claudius offered.
Astaroth the takes out his recently-acquired Demon-Banisher Sword from his five-leaf. "Recite it."
"Of course, milord."
In the name our king, Apocrypha, the Hungry Joker.
I sentence Patry, leader of the former organization, Eye of the Midnight Sun, to an eternity in the Sixth Circle of Hell: Heresy.
The midnight sun falls to twilight.
"Hey Claudius, I think I figured out the name for this sword."
"And what would it be?" Claudius asked.
"Reject." Astaroth mused. "This sword will reject this filthy world of its mana, purifying it for a new era."
"THEN I, CLAUDIUS NERO BAEL, PRINCE ASTAROTH'S LOYAL VASSAL, HERE BY BRAND THEE BLADE AS 'REJECT'!" Claudius applauded to the heavens above. "Hold a second milord." Claudius then taps into his brain while Astaroth puts Reject away into his five-leaf.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SHE GOT AWAY'!?" Claudius roared out. "ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL. I HEREBY DECLARE THIS OPERATION A FAILURE! I REPEAT. THIS OPERATION IS A FAILURE! EVERYONE GET BACK TO HOME BASE WITH WHATEVER YOU CAN FIND AND TAKE FROM THIS BASE!" Claudius then turns to his prince with a panicked expression on his face. "Apologizes for my vulgar mannerisms, milord. But it seems that one has gotten away."
"And daylight's coming right?" Astaroth states.
"We should make haste before more people sees all of the mess we've made."
The two then fly out of the fallen fortress and out of any prying eyes as daylight burns bright behind them.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: With that, the first major arc is over and done with.
The Eye of the Midnight Sun is now dead, Third Eye is dead (sans Fana), Licht/Patry is dead, and yet the operation was a failure since one witness got away.
Pyrrhic victory? In the long run, might as well be.
Also, I know that the third Anti-Magic sword is still unnamed, so in this fic, it shall be christianed as the Demon-Banisher Sword, Reject.
Now Astaroth has his canon Demon-Slayer Sword, Ravager, and Demon-Banisher Sword, Reject.
Now that our beloved Fallen Angel prince received his pound of flesh, now it's Yuno's turn next.
Leave a comment or a review, for I'd like to know what my audience is thinking.
Update (29 December, 2018): My headcanon is that the Heart Kingdom is mostly comprised of deserts, despite abundant of resources. My headcanon is that the Heart Kingdom is based off the Saudi Arabia depicted in the 10th century. Thought it be the best way to differentiate from Clover's Renaissance Italy and Diamond's implied Spartan Greece.
Spade Kingdom?
We'll see.