Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 12: Believer
Demon's Hideout, Clover Kingdom (Midnight)
Claudius, Astaroth, and Belial bolt toward where the opening with the withered tree stood below the moonlight coming from the crevice above.
In front of them, was a youth with reddish-dark brown skin, white hair, amber eyes, and an "X" scar in his left cheek, surrounded by numerous other Fallen Angels that were restraining him.
Weren't for the fact that he had pointed ears on the sides of his head, the youth would've been assumed as just a regular human kid.
The surrounding Demons make way for the three.
"Umm, Belial?" Claudius asked.
"Yes?" She chirped out.
"Is he really an elf?"
"Well, last time I checked, they were supposed to have pointed ears and white hair, right?" Belial retorted.
"True, but he's dark-skinned, and there's not a trace of mana coming from him." Claudius replied.
"Wait Claudius, you can sense mana?" Astaroth asked.
"We'll get to that later." Claudius then looks at the youth. "So, tell us. What the actual fuck are you?"
"My name is Leif." The boy answered. "And what about you?"
"I am Claudius Nero Bael." The Fallen Angel replied. "One of the devout vassals of the great Demon Prince of War, Astaroth." He then gestures his hands toward the ash-grey haired Fallen Angel.
"Sup." Astaroth waved. "So how did you end up here?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Leif replied. "I was just out foraging for supplies for my village until I saw people with black wings from the distance, doing the same thing as me." He scoffed.
"Also those feathered fuck dragged me here." Leif then points towards the Fallen Angels behind him.
"Wait wait wait, village?" Claudius exclaimed. "But I thought the elves went extinct."
"That's what the humans assumed after their little genocide." Leif scoffed. "But I'm not telling you where they are, only the fact that we're still alive and ready to kill and eat those fucks at a moment's notice."
"... Can you all watch him for a moment while me and the Prince discuss a few things in private?" Claudius asks the Demon guards.
They nod in unison.
"And Belial?" The female Fallen Angel turns her head towards him. "Give the poor kid something to eat and drink."
"R-R-R-Right away!" She then stumbles toward one of the caves in the cavern walls.
As the female Fallen Angel get a pouch of water and boar meat, Claudius guides Astaroth to their training grounds.
"Something's up, milord." Claudius whispered in a panicked tone. "As far as I can recall, the rain of light wiped out the entire elf race, and yet, here we are, seeing one before our eyes."
"Well, why don't you ask him yourself?" Astaroth stated.
"I would, but as you just saw, cooperation will be difficult."
"I can help you with that." A voice behind them stated. "You could've told me sooner."
Behind the two was the dark-skinned elf boy, Leif.
"HOW!?" The two yelled out.
"Eh, brambles were more trickier to get out of." The boy stated. "So I take it that you're not humans, then?"
Both Claudius and Astaroth was given a pause.
"Milord, we gotta wing it."
Astaroth nods.
"So, again, tell us, what are you, exactly?" Claudius asked nervously.
"The name's Leif, and I'm a dark elf." The boy stated in a dark tone.
"Wait a minute, dark elf?" The two said in a confused tone.
"So what's your deal, then?" The dark elf asked.
The two demons look at each other awkwardly, not sure what to say to this enigmatic kid.
"Should we tell him, milord?" Claudius whispered.
"It's better to breed trust then suspicion." Astaroth suggested.
"Very well." Claudius then turns back to Leif. "As you can see from our wings, we are Demons. Fallen Angels, to be exact."
"Oh, so the whole 'demon' shtick isn't just some moniker."
"Wait, why aren't you surprised by all this?" Astaroth asked.
"The village elder did say that 'as long it's not a human, then it's an ally'." Leif claimed. "If you're not humans, then that means I have no reason to be hostile towards you."
The two blink.
"Milord."
"Yeah?"
"Methinks that we should hear him out."
Astaroth nods.
Belial then scrambles into the cave's entrance with a pouch of water and a slab of boar meat around her arms. "Sorry if I'm late!" The female Fallen Angel cries out.
"No need, as long as you're here." Claudius reassured as she then set down the morsel in front of the dark elf. Among the pile, a black apple with crossed-out eyes and a sewn-shut mouth rolls out.
In that instant, Claudius snatches the apple before Leif's eyes, right before giving Belial the stink-eye.
The Fallen Angel flies out in panic.
"I'll talk to her later..." Claudius mumbles as the boy gnaws on the slab of meat. "So, tell us Leif. What is the purpose of the dark elves?"
Leif bites out a chunk of the slab before swallowing it whole. "Let me explain." The boy then chugs on a pouch of water to wash down his morsel. "Ever since the day that the humans invaded the elf village after someone killed the elf groom and a human bride, those who managed to escape the onslaught found themselves without a home, and a whole race out to kill us for our magic."
The two Fallen Angels sit down on the stone floor in front of Leif, ready to listen.
For Claudius, his brain was already in buzz trying to make heads and tails of this historical confusion.
"There were around twenty survivors of the elf village massacre, and day by day, they were on the run from the humans hunting us down. But, by some sheer miracle, quick feet, and sharp wit, the elves survived for a whole generation, and during our march, they found themselves in a whole new world."
"A world where humans used magic and the elves were considered extinct." Leif spat out like venom. "But instead of plotting revenge and let their survival be in vain, the elves retreated to the most secluded place in this content."
"And that is?" Astaroth asked.
"The Gallows Forest." Leif answered. "Named after the place where criminal were left to hang, this forest of death's treetops and roots became our new home. Since then, the elves continued to use magic in order to have our old lives back, until one elf stepped up, and changed everything forever."
"And pray tell, who is it?" Claudius mused.
Leif smiles slightly. "Vidar the Vengeful." He spoke in an admiring tone. "He was the one to convince the elves that the whole reason why they lost to humanity was because of their reliance on magic."
Astaroth then starts to get a feeling of Déjà vu.
"Vidar claimed that the elves became too complacent with their own magic that they became too unprepared for the outside world. Naturally, some elves were not too happy about abandoning their magic, but Vidar then makes a counterpoint."
"And that being?"
"The fact that now the humans now become too reliant on magic, as such, the elves's weakness are now the human's. And from that day forward, the elves slowly began to abandon their magical practices and turn toward conventional weapons and tools that the humans once used." Leif then smiles again. "Eventually, we found veins of iron deep underneath the tree roots, letting us transition from stone to iron."
"Hold on, how did the humans did not catch you?" Claudius asked. "Surely if there was smoke, they would've saw that."
"They did, and do you want to know where their feet ended up?" Leif grinned.
"... Something tells me that the Gallows Forest is no ordinary forest." Claudius claims.
"The 'forest' was a red herring. About 70% of our home is swamp." Leif's smile then becomes borderline evil-looking. "By the time the human mages were shoulder-deep in bog, we wrapped nooses around their necks, took their grimoires, cut their hands off, and we left them to hang." He chuckled out. "After they were good and dead, their flesh became our food, their organs became fertilizer for the fruit trees that we lived in, their bones became arrowheads or blades, their clothes became ours, and everything else was dumped into the bog or burnt to ash."
"So you done the same as us." Claudius stated. "Wait, one question."
"I'm listening." The boy stated.
"How did your skin end up like that?" He points to Leif's reddish-dark brown skin.
"Oh, you mean how we went from pale-white to roasted-wood?" Leif remarked. "Have you ever heard of the Port Wine Curse?"
The two look at each other awkwardly.
"Here's the thing, the so-called cursed allows a person to hide their mana signature from wherever the curse is placed onto you, as indicated by the differing skin coloration." He stated. "Our founder discovered where the curse was coming from, that being the bloodshrooms found in the forest that we live in. The curse can be applied through the spores contacting our skins. And over the generations, the curse became hereditary, and here we are."
"Hmm, doesn't sound too bad, when you put it that way." Astaroth stated. "But wait, why is it called a 'curse' if it's so useful?"
"Simple." Leif replied. "Vanity, in two different ways."
"Whoa." Astaroth exclaimed. "That bad?"
"Even I'm surprised to hear such thing." Claudius gasped. "So Leif, how bad?"
"Did you know that they're more concerned of their looks over everything else?" Leif stated. "Apparently, reddish-dark brown skin isn't a popular trend."
The two stand in awkward silence.
"Also, they want people to notice that their magic is bigger than the others."
"Milord." Claudius spoke to Astaroth. "When the humans in the Clover Kingdom die at our hands, I'm not going to even acknowledge their existence."
"Join the club..." Astaroth muttered. "So, with that all out of the way, I gotta ask; what's your guys's endgoal?"
"Simple." Leif states. "Fulfill our founder Vidar's vision; erase all magic from the face of this world, so that no one may be afflicted by our weakness."
The two Fallen Angels look at each other, but now with opportunity glinting in their eyes.
"Milord?"
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Astaroth responds.
"Better." Claudius smiles before turning to Leif. "Leif, you've stated that 'as long isn't human, it's an ally', correct?"
"Meaning?" Leif retorted.
Claudius smiles.
"It seems that we both share a similar goal."
"And what do you mean by that?" Leif retorts.
"Exactly what I said."
Leif smiles back in response.
"I think we'll be good friends from now on." The boy smiles. "I'll tell the others... that help is on the way." Leif then heads out of the cave but then stops in his tracks upon seeing daylight rising from the crevice above.
"You mind if I stay here until dark? I rather travel when light is not beating over my head and humans discovering my race's existence, if possible."
Astaroth nods.
Black Bulls Base, Clover Kingdom (Morning)
First daylight of Yuno in the Black Bulls base.
He stretches out of his bed, looks at the half-drafted letter on the desk next to where he's standing, and the Black Bulls robe hanging by the chair.
He dresses up into his Magic Knight attire, and heads out of his room, where he meets Jericho standing in front of his door.
"Good morning Yuno." Jericho greeted.
"Morning." Yuno stated.
"MORNIN' YOU FUCKS!" Yuno turns his head towards his left, seeing his Vice-Captain Magna standing before them. "I hope that you two slept like babies last night! Because since you two are newbies, you're going have to do the chores around the whole base before your first mission as Magic Knights! But! In turn, I, the great Magna Swing, will show you around the whole base!"
"One question." Yuno raises his hand. "Was that pillar over there ever there in the first place?"
"Peh, you'll get used to it." Magna stated. "The whole base changes its interior every day."
"It's true." Jericho pointed out. "Gordon even told me that the whole base literally fixes itself."
"Huh." Yuno emotes. "So that's why the base doesn't feel drafty despite looking so run-down."
"ALRIGHT!" Magna cuts in. "With that all cleared up, let's start the tour already! Follow me, maggots!"
The two then follow the Vice-Captain around the whole base.
"This is the bathhouse!" He shows the communal hot springs with Gordon in it.
"Morning Gordon." Jericho greets the man in the hot water.
The man waves back.
"Still don't know how you two are even communicating..." Magna muttered. "Whatever, let's move on."
The three then head out and towards a hallway laced with tripwires.
"Towards this way is the female residence." Magna stated.
"Are those... wires?" Yuno questioned.
"Touch one, and it'll defiantly kill you instantly." Magna spoke out in a nonchalant tone.
"Even if these traps are meant to keep out perverts, I sort of find these rather... excessive." Jericho stated.
"Don't care, MOVING ON!" The vice captain then leads the two towards a room with a row of stalls.
"These are the communal toilets!" Magna stated as he opened one of the stall doors, revealing Captain Yami doing his business.
"Get out."
"YES SIR! AND SORRY ABOUT THAT SIR!" Magna then slams the door shut then pushes the two recruits out of the room.
Then the three heads toward the basement, looking upon a giant cage full of monstrous-looking animals.
"THIS IS THE BEAST ROOM!" Magna shouts over the beasts's collective roars. "CAPTAIN YAMI LIKES TO COLLECT ALL SORTS OF DANGEROUS BEASTS IN PLACES THAT HE GOES ON HIS MISSIONS!"
"ARE YOU SURE THE CAPTAIN'S HOBBY IS EVEN ETHICAL!?" Jericho cried out.
"ARE YOU QUESTIONING CAPTAIN YAMI'S CHOICE OF LEISURE!?" Magna roared over the beasts's braying. "AND BESIDES, ANY OF THESE GO FREE, IT'LL TEAR UP THE ENTIRE KINGDOM IN A WEEK!"
Yuno just stands there, covering his ears with his hands.
Magna then hands Yuno a gigantic slab of meat.
"ALRIGHT NEWBIE!" Magna shouted. "YOUR FIRST CHORE IS TO FEED THESE ANIMALS IN THE CAGE!"
Yuno then casts [Wind Creation Magic: Air Bubble] around the slab of meat, floating the meat into the cage.
The animals, upon seeing the meat on the ground, go into a feeding frenzy.
"Tch. You're good..." Magna mutters.
"You we're trying to get him mauled?" Jericho asked.
"Misery builds character." Magna justified. "Plus, I'm not the only one who saw that big-ass claw mark gashed across his chest."
The three then heads back upstairs and into a room where there were piles of books towering before them.
"This is the library." Magna stated in a softer tone. "You'll find all sorts of old books that the Clover Kingdom no longer prints out. But don't expect to find any new books here."
"I'm okay with this." Jericho states. "It's a wonderful thing that Captain Yami has the appreciation for the classics."
"Nah, the books came with the whole base." Magna stated.
The three then heads toward a small room filled with all sorts of inhumane-looking equipment and devices.
"This is the playroom." Magna plainly stated.
"Don't you mean the 'torture room'?" Yuno stated.
"It's best not to ask Yuno." Jericho cut in. "Just assume that those were the previous owner's own."
The three then tour around the rest of the base, from the living room, where they first met the Black Bulls, the cafeteria, where Charmy was eating a pile of food like if there was no tomorrow, and eventually, the balcony, where the three run into Noelle Silva.
"Oh, so that's where you were." Magna spoke to the royal.
"Who gave you permission to speak to me, you damn peasant?" Noelle spat out.
"OI!" Magna shouted. "I'M VICE-CAPTAIN!"
"Of the worst Magic Knight Squad in the whole Clover Kingdom." She cut in. Noelle then turns her attention towards Yuno and Jericho. "As for you!" She points towards Jericho. "Why did you join this squad when you could've joined the other, better Magic Knight Squads!?"
"I dunno, are you speaking that question out of your very heart, or are you speaking out of fear of your own family, especially your older siblings?" Jericho asked Noelle.
Noelle then starts to tremble as she then hastily opens her grimoire and fires out a blast of water meant for Jericho, but the shot curves toward Magna's direction.
The ball of water explodes upon hitting Magna.
"OI! WHAT THE HELL'S THAT FOR, YA BITCH!?"
"And as for you!" She then ignores Magna in favor of Yuno. "You've defeated me at my very best, so why didn't you use that opportunity join a squad like the Golden Dawn!?" She then eyes toward a black sash wrapped around Yuno's right wrist. "And when are you going to get rid of that mangy rag-"
Yuno then grabs her by the collar and slams her towards a nearby wall.
"Don't talk shit about my brother, you bitch."
"Wha-What?" She whimpered out.
"I SAID DON'T SPEAK OF MY BROTHER LIKE YOU EVEN KNEW HIM, YOU BITCH!" Yuno roars out.
Noelle's eyes then start tearing up out of fear. To her, Nozel was benevolent compared to this four-leaf's wrath.
"YUNO STAND DOWN! SHE'S NOT WORTH IT!" Jericho tries drags Yuno away from Noelle, but the youth refuses to budge.
"I'm letting you off easy right now." Yuno spoke in a low, threatening tone. "But cross that line one more time, and I'm throwing you in that cage where Captain Yami keeps all sorts of monsters that he collected throughout the years, and hey who knows, that might be the only chore you might have to do around your time here."
"YUNO!" Jericho roars out.
From Jericho's intervention, Yuno snaps out of his berserk state.
Yuno then sees what in front of him, and all he sees is that Noelle was in his hands, pinned against the wall, and she herself on the verge of tears.
"Oh God, what have I done?" Yuno uttered out.
"Something that you need to work on." A gruff voice called out.
Yuno looks behind him, and sees Captain Yami standing behind him. And upon seeing him, Yuno lets go of Noelle.
"Captain Yami..." All Black Bulls in the balcony speak out.
"I take my eyes off the new recruits to take my morning crap, but here you are, causing melodrama on your first day." Captain Yami then blows a cloud of smoke onto Yuno's face. "Look Yuno, I know that the pain of loss is the reason why you joined the Magic Knights, but let me give you a word of advice;" The Captain then blows another puff of smoke onto Yuno's face.
"Just because you've seen death doesn't mean you get to play as one."
Upon hearing that, Yuno falls to his knees in shame.
"So get off your damn cross and use that as a bridge to move on." Captain Yami states bluntly. "But don't rush it, or else you'll fall off into something way worse than death."
"What could be worse than death?" Noelle asks while thinking of the reason of her mother's death.
Captain Yami then exhales out a huff of smoke out into the open air.
"Despair."
The whole group goes silent.
"I'm sorry." Noelle spoke out. "I... I stepped out of line."
"No." Yuno replied. "I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that."
"Alright you two. Cut the crap before it gets out of hand." Captain Yami cuts in. He then grabs Yuno's right wrist and Noelle's left wrist and puts them together. "Just shake your hands on it and call it lesson learned, got it?"
The two then awkwardly shake each other's hands.
"But should this kind of crap happens to either of you again..."
The two then look at Captain Yami in all of his menacing glory.
Yuno is slightly off-put by his aura resembling Death itself.
Noelle meanwhile, was trying not to piss herself right now.
"... You're both cleaning the toilets for six months straight, and in those six months, I'll convince our little gourmet to serve only high-carbs meals to the rest of the Black Bulls in that time period, got it?"
"Y-Y-Yes sir..." Both Yuno and Noelle stammer out.
"Good." Captain Yami's presence goes back to normal, for the most part. "Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go to town and gamble. Vice-Captain, ya comin'?"
"YES SIR!" Magna salutes enthusiastically.
"Then hurry up." Captain Yami replied. "I've got over one-million yuls to burn from my bet with the other captains, and I plan to earn more."
The two then head out the front door, laughing their asses off.
"You know, Yuno..." Jericho cut in. "I was going to stop them from doing such thing, but after seeing well... everything, methinks it's for the best to leave them be."
"Are you sure?" Yuno stated.
Jericho just nods as a response.
"I'm too tired for this crap..." Noelle uttered. "I'm going back to bed until the next daylight comes..."
To Be Continued...
Author's notes: a few things have occurred in the past days.
I've completely overhauled my very first fanfic, Nerve Damage: Season 2, and for the most part, it may have to do with the fact that while writing this fanfic, I've finally developed my signature writing style.
The overhauled fic will be posted on the New Year's, so check it soon.
And also, went on a vacation to the mountain cabin, saw snow, had a white Christmas, and it was spectacular.
So onto the recap:
First Butterfly: Elves subsequently survived the genocide and now evolved/mutated into Dark Elves from the hereditary version of William Vangence's Port Wine Curse, and have completely forsaken magic.
Claudius is freaking out/Deku-processing on what the hell is going on with the existence of the Dark Elves.
The Fallen Angels now found themselves potential allies within the Dark Elves, due to them sharing a similar goal.
Yuno and Jericho go through their very first day as Black Bulls, and surprisingly, Noelle's insensitivity triggers Yuno.
From said trigger, Yuno loses himself to his own, newfound weakness of being burdened by Asta's death.
Captain Yami will now be his new mentor... right after he comes back from gambling and individually lose all of his hard-earned money due to his foolhardiness.
Some things change, some things never change, but hey,
... that's life.
Also, Bae-lial (I am not even remotely sorry), is still acting an intern spilling coffee over her superiors.
Also, possible voices for my OCs, because reasons.
Leif: Yuko Sanpei (JPN), Stephanie Young (ENG)
Vidar: Yuji Ueda (JPN), Chris Burnett (ENG)
...
So, what do you readers think about this chapter?
Leave a review or a comment, for I like to know what my readers are thinking.
Also, early happy 2019, folks.