Black Clover - The Three Brothers

"AAAAAAAARGH! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"

"CAN'T YOU SLOW DOWN A BIT, BLAKE?!"

Blake ignored Noelle and Asta's shouting, reaching out in his mind's eye to see how far away that massive and tightly condensed mana was located; It was different compared to how dispersed and wide the rest of the mana around was, so it was his guess that that was where the treasure hall was. Along with Nero's help, it wasn't too difficult.

"Hang tight! We're taking a sharp left!"

Blake's Wind Ark curved around the narrow corner of the hallway, almost drifting into the wall— slowing down enough so that his two passengers didn't end up flying off the ark. He prepared another gathering of wind before yelling out, "Keep your heads low! We're going up!"

"Are you seriously going to—?!"

Swinging his arm up, Blake directed part of his ark's wind separately, a powerful enough force behind it to break open the ceiling, then pushed his wind up to make it through the hole he made.

"Ah!" Noelle yelped as her grip loosened on the ark, feeling herself fall back as they ascended up, making her heart sink for a moment. Thankfully, she felt herself fall onto something much denser than the wind, acting as her safeguard.

"I'm going to die here, aren't I?" Noelle wept to herself.

"Come on, Noelle, you're better than that! Happy thoughts! Think happy thoughts!"

"Right...Right, happy thoughts. I appreciate that Ast—"

Noelle's mouth snapped shut and her head snapped down as she realized Asta's voice came from underneath her; Her eyes widened and her face almost burned red as she saw Asta's characteristic smile beaming at her—in between her hands, legs dangerously close to his hips.

WHY AM I ON TOP OF ASTA?!

"Noelle? Is something wrong—Agh!" Asta brought his arms up to protect him against Noelle's barrage of fist slams, though he realized they actually weren't all that harmful.

"What do you think you're doing down there, Dorksta?!" She shouted out.

"You're the one who landed on me in the first place! An apology would've been nice!" Asta retorted.

"Sh-Shut up! I don't need to apologize...I'm Royalty!"

"What's that got to do with anything?!"

"Everyone settle down for a second!" Blake shouted out, bringing his spell's motion to a halt.

Noelle took the opportunity to push and scurry away from Asta, sitting in a corner of the ark, facing away from the short boy.

Geez, what's her deal? Asta sat up and crossed his arms, brows furrowed in thought from actually trying to see what got Noelle so upset.

...Was it because of how close we were? Do I smell bad? I took a shower this morning.

Thinking through it just a bit more intensely—Asta's was pushing his brain cells to the max—he remembers seeing Blake and Vanessa napping on the couch together in a similar position after they shared a bit too much to drink. It happened rather frequently, actually.

What did Recca call Miss Vanessa before...? A...girlfriend? Asta looked at Noelle and wondered, She's a girl. She's my friend. But that's not the same as a Girlfriend...right?

...Asta would need more time to work out this conundrum.

Just in time Blake finally announced, "The treasure hall is just a bit farther away, I don't think Yuno or anyone else has gotten there yet. But there's another issue." He said, turning around to look at them.

"What could that be?" Noelle asked, calming down from the previous occurrence.

Blake pointed a finger to the right, "Nero helped point it out, but somewhere over there I can feel Luck's mana—he's definitely fighting someone. But there's something off with his magic, I think he's having trouble with an enemy."

"Seriously?! Then let's get going! We gotta help him out!"

While Asta had no qualms, Noelle was a bit more tentative. "Do we need to? Fights are all that Luck cares about, isn't it? Besides, there are likely stronger enemies heading to the treasure hall, and protecting it is the priority for this mission."

Blake regarded what Noelle said, but his mind was made up as he saw Asta's determined look and remembered something they had promised to each other when they were younger.

So, he smiled. "Alright then, how about this?"

He raised a hand, casting his Swift White Hawk spell, the wind from his ark shaping into the said animal.

"We'll split up the work. You guys head over to the treasure hall and I go help out Luck. After we deal with whoever is there, we'll meet back up with you guys."

"You sure you'll be alright?" Asta asked as he and Noelle took seating on the Hawk.

Blake sighed, "The only thing I'm worried about is not seeing that noble's dumb face when he realizes he got beat by the worst squad." He said with a satisfied chuckle, then looked to Nero, moving them off his shoulder to his finger. "I'll need you to guide Neven and my lil' bro and sis to the treasure hall. Can you do that for me?"

Nero nodded with a salute before flying off to sit on Asta's head.

"Why you always gotta be on my head?!"

"You can rest on my head!" Noelle offered...pleaded.

"Go forth, Neven! Lead my comrades to victory!" Blake spoke dramatically, pointing ahead with a dramatic flare.

"TO VICTORY!" Asta echoed.

Neven made an affirmative magic hawk noise before he lifted off the ark and soared in the direction Blake and Nero directed him to go. Blake looked on with a smile until they were out of sight then turned his head to the wall in front of him, forming more wind in his hand.

"Let's see how much I can destroy on my way there~"


Mimosa lit up with a smile. "Almost there, just up ahead!"

Klaus nodded proudly. "Excellent work, Mimosa."

The bright light peeled away as they approached the hallway's end, revealing the design of their desired destination. The treasure vault's door was marked between two large trees and some foliage; The door itself appeared made from steel, its black and grey tiles overlapping over one another, while in the center were golden tiles of various shapes and sizes that came together to make a circle.

Klaus sighed happily to himself. No enemies had gotten to it, so they should have no issue capturing it now. What made it even better was there not being any possibility of those dreaded black bulls being—

"WOOOOAAAAH, THIS IS SO COOL!"

Klaus almost fell off of Yuno's spell from the abhorrent shout he just heard. Then he went dead silent, pleading for it to not be the case as he adjusted his glasses to look at where the shouting came from, down where the door was.

"...What?"

"Well, damn." Yuno spoke with a smile, resigned.

"...What?!"

"Aw darn, looks like they beat us to it in the end," Mimosa said softly, maybe a little disappointed, bringing a hand to her cheek.

"...WHAT?!"

"Are you seeing this, Noelle?! This place is absolutely gigantic! It'd take...!" Asta counted on his fingers. "It'd take like 100 of me to cover the thing up!"

"Hmm, I'd say more like 1,000." Noelle said.

Asta gasped. "Really, you think so?!"

"Actually, scratch that, more like 10,000."

"Oh come on, I'm not that small!"

...10,000 mini-Asta's?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS NONSENSE?!"

Noelle snapped out of her thoughts at the sudden shout; Asta and Noelle looked up to see the Golden Dawn having made it as well, only minutes after they had. After making it to the floor, Klaus strode over to Asta and Noelle with a fury, while the pair held victorious expressions on their faces.

"You! Peasant boy! Explain now! What dirty tactics did you pull to get here before us!" Klaus demanded, manhandling Asta yet again.

"Oh, get over yourself! We got here fair and square through awesome teamwork! Stop being such a sore loser!" Asta blew raspberries at the blue-haired noble.

"Damn you!" Klaus yelled back.

"That's enough, you two. Break it up." Yuno calmly said, pushing the two away as they tried to claw the other's eyes out, before turning to Asta. "So then, where's Blake at?"

"Oh, he went to help out our teammate with some bad guys! I'm sure they'll be back soon." Asta said.

One of Klaus' nerves was ticked, though he quickly hid it with the guise of adjusting his glasses. "I surely hope not. I've had enough of him for one day."

Noelle rolled her eyes, then her attention was drawn to her cousin, who approached her with her usual smile.

Noelle held a confident grin, lifting her hands up and shrugging her shoulders. "Well, look at that. Even being with the Golden Dawn, I guess some things never change. Dim-witted as..." Her words trailed off as she realized Mimosa had...held her hand out.

"Congratulations on beating us, Noelle. I'm so glad you've been able to find people that can help you improve!" She said, in a way that Noelle could not interpret any other way except genuine kindness. Hell, it made her a bit guilty for what she just said.

"...Thank you." Noelle said, accepting the handshake.

Mimosa now held a thoughtful smile. The two hadn't seen much of each other in recent years in truth and more often than not it was Mimosa finding Noelle rigorously training her magic, no matter how much it seemed in vain. Nothing could describe how much admiration she held for her cousin just from those showings, not even regarding how the girl had acted like her protector when they were younger.

And yet, so many of the other nobles and royals had simply disregarded it, as if all that hard work and effort was worthless. All they would praise were the successes, but why couldn't they recognize the efforts? Why did they have to say such hurtful things? But, all she could do was listen with a smile, her clenched fists hidden away. So many times she wished she could have the same attitude as their eldest cousin.

"It's not just your magic that's changed for the better. You're...genuinely happy." Happiness that she had never seen or felt from Noelle before since she can remember.

Noelle was stunned, too stunned to say anything.

Mimosa wasn't bothered though, instead raising her fist with a soft but determined smile. "I'll be working hard to improve as well, so don't think I'll be left behind just yet!" She said with a giggle.

Noelle couldn't help but sigh and smile softly as if she had lost.

Leave you behind, Mimosa? How could I?

You were the only childhood friend I had.

"Well then, you'd better—"

"HEY, WATCH OUT!"

The two royals barely had enough time to realize the shards of crystal that were aimed at them; They had even less time to realize who had stepped in the way to protect them.

Asta held his Demon-Slayer in a reverse grip as he dashed over to in front of them, then slammed his sword into the ground, using it to fend off the approaching crystals all in the span of less than a few seconds. He gritted his teeth, tightening his muscles and pushing his weight against the sword so he wouldn't get pushed back.

Yuno was surprised momentarily before activating his Wind Magic, surrounding the crystals and crushing them from the pressure.

"Noelle! Mimosa! You two alright?!" Asta asked, looking back at them momentarily.

"We're fine! Stay focused!" Noelle said, readying her wand.

Mimosa was stunned but quickly nodded in agreeance, readying her grimoire.

Asta smirked, "Alright!" He said, swinging the sword to lay on his shoulder.

Klaus had barely been able to register all that had happened in such a short amount of time.

Mimosa's specialty was mana detection and she was still unable to sense the attack coming. How could the peasant boy with no magic have been able to see and react so quickly?! Pure instinct?! Not only that, but he was able to fend off the attack by himself with that strange sword.

Klaus couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself, having needed a Black Bull to save his junior. Despicable! He aimed those feelings at their approaching attacker. "Identify yourself! Who are you?!"

Their attacker had given no introduction, merely walking slowly through the pathway of crystals he made underneath his feet. He was a young man, with spiky light purple hair, and his pink eyes held an unnatural coldness to them.

The Diamond Kingdom's secret weapon, Mars.

"Tch, attacking someone from behind?! Have you no shame as a warrior?!" Klaus shouted again.

Mars was silent for a moment before speaking with a monotone voice, "What sort of question is that? You're all the same, in the end. Weaklings that are left for the strong to step on." He spoke before unleashing another barrage of crystals towards the Clover Kingdom Knights.

"[Steel Creation Magic: Full Metal Fortress]!"

This time, Klaus had reacted first, erupting a steel wall from the ground to block the attack from reaching them, though he had some difficulty.

"It pains me to say this, but this mage is strong and we'll need all the assistance we can take! Black Bulls, you will fight alongside us! Show that you're worth being in the Magic Knights!" Klaus ordered.

"You ain't gotta tell me twice, four-eyes!" Asta said, moving near him and Yuno. "Think you can handle this, Yuno?" Asta said playfully.

Yuno smirked, readying another spell. "Try to keep up, Asta."

"This doesn't mean I've acknowledged y—"

"Could you just shut up for one second?!" Asta cut Klaus off as he tensed his legs and sent himself into a dash toward Mars.

"Save all that crap till after we beat this guy!


I need to move. I need to break out. I need to fight.

I need to win.

Win and keep winning.

"I wonder how that kid of ours is doing? It's always a bit hard to know what he's thinking..."

Lotus soothed the mark Luck left on him earlier. The manic boy was certainly a handful—even after lacing the area with his Garden of Plundering Smoke to weaken him and dull his senses the kid was able to keep going strong. It's a good thing he had enough mana for his Binding Cross Prison to lock the kid down or else he might've started getting scared.

"Aw well, I'm sure he's doing alright."

Lotus looked up at the restricted Luck, holding a curious look once he saw the expression on the boy's face.

"Looks like you're hung up on something else besides that spell of mine. Sorry to have your life flashing before your eyes, but gotta do what I gotta do." Lotus raised a hand, intending to submerge Luck within the solid smoke, forced to snuff the embers of a bright light out.

I need to keep winning.

If I can't then...what I want will be taken from me.

Luck's sight darkened, the smoke taking hold of him by the second. He could barely keep his eyes open and all his senses were being suffocated by the smoke.

"Here, I'll set you free," He could barely hear the man say.

But...

Why can't I remember what it was?

"[Copy Magic: Thunder God's Gloves]!"

Within an instant, the smoke that covered Luck was torn to shreds with the claws of Blake's gauntlets.

"You losing your touch, Luck?" Blake wondered with a smirk, looking back at him.

Damn, things just can't be easy, can they? Lotus thought

"I got a bad feeling about this new one. Who might you be?" Lotus asked.

Blake stood from his crouched position, scratching a cheek as he thought before deciding.

"I'm his friend, simple as that. You'll be dealing with the both of us now!" He declared, palming his fist.

"Back the hell off, Blake."

Blake turned back, seeing Luck with that same empty smile from earlier today, and frowned, confused.

I need to win. Offer these victories to Mom.

"This victory is mine."

I'll do it on my own. I need to. If I can't...Mom won't accept me.

Luck dashed forward, not caring about what Blake was saying, and aimed another attack at Lotus. Unfortunately, his strength was still weakened by the spell from before, giving Lotus an easy chance at dodging the attack and bringing forth more smoke to trap Luck in.

"Doesn't look like I can hold back at all, what a pain!" Lotus grumbled to himself.

If Mom doesn't accept me...then I really will be all alone.

"Like hell I'd let that happen!"

Blake closed the distance and grabbed Luck by the shirt; He lept over the smoke with the boy in tow, escaping the attack and providing distance between them and Lotus. Landing on the ground, Blake noticed his grimoire glowing—copying the smoke magic.

Blake could look at the magic he was bestowed in two ways. To stand alone, surrounded by opponents and enemies, using their power against them, to destroy them; The other way...he much preferred.

"What you said earlier, about having all this power for myself? It wouldn't mean a thing if I didn't have people I cared about to use it for! The friends and family I have around me are what makes me stronger, knowing I'm using their magic to help protect everyone!"

Blake turned back to Luck, his smile blank but his mind finding the realization he had been denying for so long.

"And that includes you, whether you like it or not! So if you think I'm gonna abandon you, you can forget it!"

...That's right.

The sight of each Black Bull ran through Luck's mind.

I have friends I can rely on now, why couldn't I see that?

I'm sorry, Mom. But..I'm not alone anymore!

"Bashing this guy's face in together...does sound a lot more fun!"

Blake laughed. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Nice little pep talk...but try to pay attention to your opponent more!" Lotus remarked as he activated his strongest spell.

"[Smoke Creation Magic: Prison of the Fallen King]!"

Swirling clouds of smoke entrapped and surrounded Luck and Blake, forming a dome. They both realized the guy wasn't kidding; The smoke would continue to grow thicker and stronger, suffocating them if they didn't find a way out.

I can pretty much tell where he is, but the smoke making him faster and it'll slow down our spells just enough to let him avoid them. A surprise attack isn't going to be easy. Is there a way to mask our magic?

Luck looks at Blake and asks, "You were able to copy his Smoke Magic, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, why?"

Luck simply smiled.

Meanwhile, Lotus continued to shift his position around in the smoke, making sure they couldn't get a good read on him, even with how much he hated cardio.

Even if I can't see them, their magic is as clear as day. I'll have no problem seeing their attacks.

It was true...till it wasn't.

Suddenly, Lotus felt an odd sensation and had to stop. It was as if the black smoke was acting against him, encroaching upon him and beginning to fill his lungs. He can feel it happening all around him. What's going on? My smoke's never harmed me before. Not only that...why can't I sense those two anymore?

"Gotcha~"

Emerging from the blackened smoke in front of him was the battle-fiend, appearing akin to a predator finding its trapped prey. Only a second later, the boy slammed his gauntlet right onto his sternum, fracturing it along with a few ribs as he was sent flying, out of his own spell.

...Crap, how didn't I realize it sooner? That wasn't my smoke, was it? Mine's not strong enough to completely hide my magic like that from strong mages without that spell. And now with my concentration broken...

Lotus saw his spell begin twisting and swirling even more than before, suddenly taking the shape of a tornado before all of it began to dissipate, revealing Blake and Luck to be safe within it.

"[Copy Magic: Towering Tornado]!"

Lotus chuckled grimly to himself. And I thought the Diamond Kingdom was special. Looks like this guy can use multiple types of magic too. Scary stuff.

Luck realized, "Wow, teamwork rocks!"

"You got that right," Blake said, his spell stopping before it got too crazy. "I wouldn't have known how that smoke magic really worked without you."

...Yeah, I think I've done enough fighting for today. Lotus thought before activating his last-ditch effort.

"[Smoke Creation Magic: Hustling Lazy Vehicle]!"

It was time to get the fuck out of here.

"This was fun but it's just not working out anymore! Hope to never see you again!" Lotus called out, riding away in his cart with the other Diamond mages in tow.

"Hey, get back here! We still need to take turns beating your ass!" Blake yelled, gesturing between him and Luck, but the other boy simply laughed.

"It would've been fun, but we should worry about getting to the Treasure Hall for right now!"

"I never expected you of all people to say that."

Blake sensed over to where he thought the treasure hall was and frowned.

"You feeling that strong magic too?" Luck asked.

Blake nodded, "Feels like everyone is trying to fight against it, we better hurry." Blake tried to activate his Spatial Magic but groaned in annoyance. "That won't work. This dungeon's distortion has it acting wonky."

Luck dashed toward one of the doorways, thunder boots active. "I'll race ya!"

"Alright, that works!"

Hang tight guys, we're coming!


Damn it, this isn't looking good. Klaus thought with a panted breath.

Mars was stronger than they could've imagined, but what should they have expected from the survivor of those death match experimentations? Asta was the only one who was effective at close range, with that supposed "Anti-Magic" sword of his, yet Mars' Talos Dolls were preventing him from doing so, and it was overwhelming him. Even Klaus and Yuno's strongest spells couldn't damage him with his Nemean Armor active.

Mimosa was doing her best to keep them healed while Noelle protected them, the one attack she attempted to use on Mars having done nothing but splash against his armor. All their resources were being spread too thin, while the Diamond Kingdom Mage had no trouble continuing his assault.

"[Crystal Creation Magic: Laevateinn]"

Mars manifested another gigantic buster sword made from crystals and hurled it toward the mages. Asta was able to intercept the attack and slice it in two, but the force from it sent him flying back, back to Klaus and Yuno.

"Asta!" Noelle called out, her tone showing concern.

"He'll be okay, I'll make sure of it!" Mimosa said.

"Damn, this guy...is really strong." Asta spoke with difficulty but readied himself again, momentarily being assisted with Mimosa's healing magic.

How can he still stand after taking on an attack like that?! Klaus wasn't sure even his strongest defense spell could fully protect him from that. To Klaus, there was only one option left.

"Yuno and the Black Bull boy! Take care of the treasure hall while I hold him off! That's an order!"

"But, sir!"

"What the hell are you saying, four-eyes?!"

"I'd rather not leave this in the hands of peasants...but this is for the good of our Kingdom! So just listen to me and do as I—!"

"No way in hell!"

Asta and Yuno shouted in unison.

Klaus gritted his teeth in frustration. "You damn fools! Can't you remember that the priority is—?!"

"It doesn't matter! Yuno!" Asta pointed to his back, the muscles that took Klaus by surprise partially showing.

Yuno nodded and used his magic to push Asta and himself forward. he sent Asta into a swirling frenzy, tearing through the dolls that got in his way, till he finally was able to breach through the soldiers and aim at Mars. Meanwhile, Yuno dealt with any other dolls and the barrage of crystals that were attacking them, making sure Asta wouldn't be hit by surprise, with assistance from Noelle and Klaus.

"Your struggle is futile, you'll all be destroyed in the end." Mars said, bringing his arms to guard the attack, but was taken by surprise when the sword was able to break through his armor and push him back. ...What?!

"I got my own priorities! Making sure my comrades are protected is one of them! No matter what!" Asta shouted

"And we won't take any other option!" Yuno declared, activating both his Crescent Moon Sickle and Wind Blades Shower to break through the damaged dolls and attack the stunned Mars.

...Protect?

Mars' head hurt. It felt like something was trying to claw its way back up to the surface; Visions of him when he was younger...with a pink-haired girl and a promise of protecting the Diamond Kingdom's people. But it was muddled and his mind tried so hard to reject it.

"SHUT UP!"

Mars activated another spell, roaring its name as his body was covered in in large, protruding crystals, like armor.

"[CRYSTAL CREATION MAGIC: HEAVY ARMORED TITAN]!"

Mars controlled the spell in a ferocious manner, slamming the arms of crystals in Asta and Yuno's direction. The boys narrowly avoided it and still, they attacked, pouring all their power into their magic and body respectively.

"None of you matter...worthless gravel to be broken down by the strong! Just stop already!"

"WE AREN'T STOPPING!"

Asta avoided Mars' crystal stomps, slashing at his legs bit by bit; Yuno soared around with his Swift White Hawk, breaking off the crystals where he could see weak spots.

"Move out of my way!"

"WE AREN'T MOVING!"

"They are merely peasants...how do they have such strong spirits?!" Klaus said to himself, sending another attack out at the dolls that came near him, but failing to notice the buster sword from the side of him closing in. It would've gravely injured him were it not for Noelle's Sea's Dragon Nest forming around him in time.

"It's because they're peasants...!" Noelle answered, dropping to her knees for having to defend against such a powerful attack, almost feeling out of breath. "They've persevered through so much...They won't let this stop them!" She declared.

Mars placed his crystal fists together and slammed them together into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Asta off-course and falling back, then slammed a backhand into Yuno who had gotten distracted by what happened with Asta, sending him flying into the ground alongside his rival.

"JUST GIVE UP!"

Mars created and wielded two more Buster swords, intending to end the lives of these two annoyances as he brought them down.

Asta wouldn't have enough range or time to slice them, but that wouldn't stop him; He brought the flat of his sword up to protect him, almost being crushed by the weight of the buster swords. But the weight being pushed atop of him began to lessen as Yuno brought his hand forward, pushing back against the swords with as much Wind Magic he could output. They gritted their teeth and roared from their very souls.

"WE'RE NEVER GIVING UP!"

And then, in a single instant, the weight upon them had vanished—obliterated by the destructive power of a black and blue lightning beam that not only tore through the swords but had torn through Mars' titan armor like it was nothing. Mars was launched across to the other side of the treasure hall—only stopping once he slammed into the wall, his mind barely recognizing what had transpired, and falling into unconsciousness.

All eyes shifted onto the new arrivals to the Treasure Hall—expressions of shock, awe, and relief apparent on their faces as Blake and Luck stood there, streams of lightning coating them.

"Well, that's no fair, Blake!" Luck whined, slamming his boot into the head of one of the Talos dolls he tore through in seconds, destroying it. "I didn't get a shot at the guy at all!"

Klaus realized who their fourth member was as soon as he saw him. That's the boy who beat his opponent to a bloody pulp at the entrance exams a few years ago...The Cheery Berserker!

Then he looked toward Blake. His Lightning Magic was strong enough to deal with that enemy in just one attack when all of us could barely keep up the fight. But...I could've sworn he was a Flame Magic user! ...Gah, first I needed the Black Bulls' aid and now I'm saved by them?! What's wrong with me?!

Blake chuckled, "Sorry, Luck. My brothers were in quite a predicament, so I didn't want to play around. I always make it up with our matches, don't I?"

Luck hummed, that was true.

Blake looked back at his brothers, who were moving back to the others. "You guys alright?"

"Never better!"

"Didn't even break a sweat."

Blake eyed his brothers up and down, with plenty of wear and tear on them to show, then laughed. "Yeah, sure looks like it." He drifted his attention to the other three. "The two of you got a bit beat up as well. You, you're a healing mage, right?" He asked Mimosa.

"U-Uh, right! I should be doing that!" Mimosa realized, activating her Dream-Healing Flower Cradle spell and healing Noelle to start off with. "I'll make sure to heal you all as well, just give me some time!"

She really is a kind person. Blake thought, holding a small smile as he felt his grimoire glow. "Here, I can help with that." He said, focusing on Asta, Yuno, and Klaus; Klaus and Mimosa questioned what he meant by that.

"[Copy Magic: Dream-Healing Flower Cradle]"

Around the three boys, black vines formed and connected to form a cradle where they would lay upon dark blue flower petals as they felt their bodies being rejuvenated

"This is different but it feels great!" Asta said, making angels out of the petals.

"That's...my spell!" Mimosa said in shock.

"Flame...? Lightning...? Plant...?! How can you—?!"

"My magic is Copy Magic, four-eyes. Any magic or spell I see gets copied into my grimoire for me to use." Blake explained.

"Copy Magic?" It was the first time Klaus had ever heard of magic like that.

Not only that, but he's able to use the magic he copies to a stronger degree. He must have exponential mana reserves even to outclass royals. And his grimoire...Is it a four-leaf too?! How are two peasants bestowed with four-leaf grimoires?! And that boy Asta can negate magic?!

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THE FORSAKEN REALM?!


After that was settled, they restrained Mars with Klaus' Seel Magic, then faced the treasure hall's doors, Klaus conceded the right to the Black Bulls, having been the ones to have gotten there first and providing a major help against the enemy, even if he'd rather not admit it.

There were a good thirty seconds where they weren't sure of how to get in, but once Luck pointed out the door was made of magic, a couple of slashes from the Demon-Slayer was enough to bring it down.

What was stored in that treasure hall was a sight to behold. Ancient relics, gold coins and bars, and rare scriptures; This dungeon held them in abundance. The mages couldn't just stand there and gawk, their curiosity to mess around with what piqued their interest was too much. Except for Klaus, that is.

"We can't just go around putting our hands on everything! This is for the use of our Kingdom, not to mindlessly play with as entertainment!"

"You ever gonna get that stick out your ass, four-eyes?" Blake retorted, walking past Klaus.

"My name is not—THE STICK OUT OF MY WHAT?!"

"Relaaax. It's not like you Nobles would notice a couple thousand going missing anyway." Blake said, before diving into a pile of coins and moving through it as if he was going for a swim, childishly laughing to himself.

A paper of a strange language caught Yuno's eye, Asta was being pulled along by Nero toward a wall, but nothing in particular stood out to Blake. Until his hand grazed through something in the coins. He stopped his motion and sat up, having ended up in one of the corners of the room, when he began to push away the coins in search of what he felt. In only a few minutes, he found it.

...What the fuck is this?

It couldn't even be called a book, it was one page thin, and it looked as bad as Asta's grimoire. Hell, maybe worse. Still, Blake opened the book, only to find evidence of all the other pages being ripped out of it before for whatever reason, leaving only one that was horribly disfigured, the writing barely legible.

He was about to toss it away and be done with it...but then he realized something.

Whatever is written here, underneath all this filth, it's...in the same language as my grimoire!

Blake opened up his grimoire to cross-reference and...he was right! What was weird was that while the magic and spells he copied were written in the language as well, somehow he could understand those just fine.

Taking another look at the book, he scanned through it, trying to see if there was any part of it he could try to decipher. There was, but only one—a singular word. Thinking it was better than nothing, Blake read through his grimoire, trying to piece together letters and symbols from that together to form the one in that book, becoming so entranced he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings as he did so.

It spells...Paradise?

A horrible, searing pain shot through Blake's entire body as he registered the word he deciphered; He made a painful gasp but his breath caught in his chest, he could barely breathe. He shot up from where he was sitting and slammed himself into the wall, headfirst, trying to make it stop.

What's going on?! What the hell is this?!

He dug his fingers into his head as strange visions flashed in his mind—muddy at first but growing clearer, and more painful, by the second. He was...being held. Tightly. By two people whose faces he couldn't make out.

A man and a woman. Black and white hair. ...Blue and red eyes? Their lips were moving, stained with blood, but he couldn't understand them, yet something in him seemed to, causing whatever this pain was to only grow worse and worse. All he could do was lash out, slamming his fists into the wall, bloodying them horribly.

What am I seeing?! These memories...they aren't mine! Goddamn it, make it stop!

"Blake?!"

That voice...I know that voice.

It was like a shining light, breaking him away from whatever hell his mind was putting him through, leading him back into reality.

A short boy. Ash-blonde hair. Green eyes.

"Asta!" Blake was almost relieved—

But suddenly the figure of Asta was replaced by a flash of something else, a being cloaked in black with grey skin and red eyes, and a horrifying image of tearing it apart flashed in his mind, and then it shifted back to Asta. And Blake was standing over him, Asta's body.

No! Get out of my fucking head! It's Asta! That's my brother!

Blake snapped his eyes back open and Asta was back to normal, but...

Asta's injured? But I just healed him!

"What happened to you, Asta?" Blake's voice cracked, slowly walking to his little brother.

"What's happening to you?! Your hair and eyes are going all—!"

"Damn it, Asta, just answer me! Who hurt you?!"

Blake's hands shot to his head, trying his damndest to focus on his brother, ignoring the flashes of memories he couldn't even describe.

Asta stepped back, shocked by Blake's words, but ignored it, instead pointing with his new sword out to the entrance of the treasure hall. "That Diamond guy is back up again! He's locked down the others and he...he hurt Noelle bad!" Asta explained, his own anger seeping through.

Asta's words only caused the strange visions to erupt once more within Blake as he cried out before suddenly going silent, words beginning to spew from his mouth that didn't seem to be his own.

"...Again. They're hurting them again. They're going to kill them again. ...I won't let them."

"Blake" glided along the room, outstretching a hand toward Asta, making the boy float alongside him.

"Blake?! Blake?! What's going on with you?! Woah, I'm getting healed again?!" Mana particles closed around Asta, manipulated by "Blake" to heal Asta.

With a swipe of his hand, "Blake" brought forth a force of wind that blasted apart the treasure vault, eyes deadly gazing forward, aimed at the enemy. He could hear familiar voices, but all that he recognized was the Crystal Magic they were trapped in. He placed his hand out and closed it into a fist, causing the crystals to shatter instantly, setting Klaus, Yuno, and Luck free. He dropped Asta with them.

"Asta...what's going on?" Yuno asked, hopelessly confused.

"I have no clue!"

"Blake's mana...feels different than usual." Luck said, his voice shaky.

"His grimoire..." Klaus questioned.

The figure in front of "Blake's" eyes didn't stay the same, shifting between Mars and...something else—different beings. But it didn't matter, they were all the same. Bastards who hurt the people he loved, the bastards he'll destroy.

He only stopped his movement as he heard someone calling Blake's name weakly, and glancing down, he was met with the sight of the two royal girls, the silver-haired one gravely injured while the other was by her side, healing her. He regarded them with narrowed eyes for a moment, but then...his expression softened, the color of his hair shifting back to white for moments longer than it had before, shaking his head softly.

"They aren't the enemies."

"Blake" took hold of the surrounding mana and used it on Noelle, healing her of her injuries within seconds, to the girls' astonishment.

Meanwhile, Mars—paralyzed by both the power that radiated from the man before him and by memories that continued to try and pull their way out of his mind—finally spoke.

"The strong have no need to deal with the worthlessness of weaklings..." He said, casting his Laevateinn spell once more, generating two buster swords that were even bigger than the ones he created before and launching them toward Blake from either side, intending to cut the man down to two.

"IF YOU WANT TO STAY BY THEM THEN DIE ALONGSIDE THEM!"

"Blake" ignored the words Mars roared at him, merely raising his hands and causing the blades to come to a complete stop as they made contact, having done nothing to him—the slightest bit of pressure he placed on the blades caused them to shatter; Shockwaves erupted from the force the walls of the dungeon beginning to crack and break.

"What?! How is that possible...?!" Mars growled to himself.

"Blake" continued to move forward, the weight behind each step comparable to the beating of a drum, as he formed a baseball bat of flames in his hand, his Grand Slam spell, only giving it a bit of power. He broke through whatever Mars tried to take him down with; His dolls were nothing, the buster swords shattered just as the ones before them did, and he swatted away the dozens of blades he created with the Harpe spell, before "Blake" decided to end it.

He appeared above Mars instantaneously—a flaming bat held above his head before he slammed and burrowed it down into Mars' armor, cratering the floor beneath them. But "Blake" was relentless, slamming his bat into the armor again and again, bashing each and every crystal into dust, each attack causing the dungeon to quake from the power being unleashed, shattered stones and debris beginning to fall around.

Hurt them. Break them. Destroy them. Make them pay for what they did.

He would've ended it all, with one last slam into Mars' head, but his attack abruptly halted, having finally noticed something...strange about the boy's mana; There were traces of something unpure, sinister. It was familiar. It originated from one of the three stones embedded in the mage's head.

Is he...not an enemy by choice?

The flaming bat in his hands dissipated; He made a gesture, pulling the small stone out from his forehead and regarded it with a critical eye, before realizing, ...Negative mana.

He shattered the stone, regarding the unconscious mage with a sympathetic look; Suddenly, "Blake" gasped in pain, burning pulsations running through his veins, dropping to the ground as he clutched his chest.

What are you doing?! You've strained his body too much!

No! No! No! I can't keep letting this happen! That damn scripture!

"Blake! Come on, we gotta go!"

Baring through what he could of the pain, he could feel Blake's body being hoisted up and carried by that small boy from before, Blake's brother.

"Whatever you did, it's got this place coming down! We gotta get out of here before it comes down on us!" Asta shouted, making his way out of the crater with his brother in tow. He turned back to see the unconscious, Mars, a contemplative look on his face, before saying, "We'll come back for you!"

"...Forgive me for losing control. Please, heal Blake. We don't want him to..."

The flickering of his hair and eyes finally ceased, returning to white and red as Blake's body fell unconscious.

"Oh come on, it's such a pain when you're dead weight!" Asta muttered.

Coming closer were the rest of the Clover Kingdom mages, riding on Yuno's wind ark as he lowered it for Blake and Asta, "Come on! We have to go!"

Asta threw Blake on first before climbing on as well, then looked toward Mimosa. "He needs to be healed! Please do your best!"

Mimosa nodded, "I will!"

They began to fly off, but Asta wanted them to go back. "That one guy is still there! We can't leave him!"

"Have you gone mad, Asta?! He's the enemy! He tried to kill us!" Klaus said, using his Fierce Spiral Lance to break apart the falling debris that had gotten in their way with the help of Luck's Thunderbolt Destruction.

"We only came to capture the dungeon! Not to let people die!" Asta shouted back.

Yuno turned back with a contemplating glare, if he was fast enough he could—

Unfortunately, the dungeon was falling apart too fast, and the area where Mars lay unconscious was already surrounded by the falling rubble.

"There's not enough time! We can't do it! We have to get out, NOW!" Klaus said

Asta gritted his teeth and cursed, pulling the new sword he found thanks to Nero out of his grimoire and quickly slashing through any of the falling rubble that came near them, faster than he could with his first one.

"Asta. That guy's mana, I can't feel it anymore." Luck told him.

Asta frowned and sighed, that meant two possibilities.

"How did Blake get this injured in the first place?!" Noelle questioned, going near Mimosa, eyes filled with worry for the older boy.

Mimosa shook her head, "I don't know...but whatever happened, it caused a lot of internal damage. I'm trying my best, but I don't know if I'll be able to heal it fully." Mimosa said regretfully. She had her strongest spell active, Princess-Healing Flower Robe, but she wasn't even sure if that would be enough. But she'll do everything she can.

She'll heal Blake; Klaus and Asta fend off the attacks and Luck guides Yuno to the exit as he accelerates the speed of his ark. They're going to escape. They won't let Blake die.


Everything in Mars' body ached and hurt. But he was alive, saved by Lotus.

But it didn't matter to him. For some reason, everything felt clearer. Warmer. Turning his head to the right, he gazed upon the sight of the setting sun, as all the memories had finally settled within his mind.

So this...is what the outside world looks like. It's beautiful.

The fingers of his left hand twitch, wanting to feel the warmth of the girl's hand he'd forgotten about for so long—Who gave him the chance to live, to see the outside world for them both.

I wish...you could've seen it too, Fana.


They did it. They made it out of the dungeon without a moment to spare. Now, they were resting in a small clearing nearby, waiting for Blake to awaken.

"Come on, Blake~ Wakey-wakey~"

"Why are you trying to slap him awake, Luck?! Stop that!" Noelle said.

"Blake's usually a heavy sleeper. Might need to punch him awake."

"Don't give him ideas, Yuno!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Asta."

"Stop being so loud! Perhaps we should just let him rest!"

"But you're being loud too, Sir Klaus..."

"Yeah, it's a bit too late for that, four-eyes."

The six mages' attention all shifted to Blake, who had just woken up with a yawn, relief washing over them.

He regarded them with lazily concerned eyes. "Hey guys. Is everyone alright?" He said a bit slowly.

"Yeah, we're okay." Yuno said softly, with a small smile.

"We're supposed to be the ones asking you that! You scared us all to death with what happened!" Noelle berated.

"What was going on with you, Blake?" Asta asked.

Blake frowned thoughtfully, "I...don't know. I remember reading off this old piece of paper, and then all of this stuff started happening in my head. I saw—"

Blake held a hand over his mouth, almost hurling when remembering what he saw of Asta.

"...I saw Asta injured and next thing I knew, I was sitting here." He stood up, grunting as he felt the various aches in his body act up from the movement.

"Please don't strain yourself! I wasn't able to completely heal you!" Mimosa said, concerned.

Blake shrugged it off, as usual from him. "Don't worry about it, I'll deal with the rest later." Whatever happened, it left him drained of almost all of his magic, a rare occurrence. "Still, thanks for all the help."

"Yeah, that Healing Magic is yours is super strong! We owe you a bunch, Mimosa!" Asta said, an appreciative smile sent her way.

"I...It was nothing really! I was just doing what I could!" She stuttered, before moving to beside Noelle, with a small smile and a bit of red across her face. "Thank you, though..."

Some of the others regarded it for a moment but didn't think much of it, chalking it up to Mimosa's shy nature.

Now that Asta took a second to look at Noelle, he noticed something rather glaring about her. Thankfully, his actions took priority over mouth this time, and he looked over to Blake. "Blake, lend me your duster!"

Blake looked at him confused for a moment, but complied, pulling it over his head and tossing it to Asta—quickly realizing what Asta was going for as he saw the boy place the duster on Noelle.

"What are you doing?" Noelle asked.

Asta patted his chest, "Your clothes were torn up a bit. I thought you would've wanted something to cover up?" He explained.

"What?!" Noelle turned away, her face flushed as she realized that, yeah, there was a lot more exposed skin than there should be, which the duster thankfully covered up from how much larger it was on her. She grumbled, her instincts to slap Asta because of this strange feeling he made her feel surfacing and almost going through.

But instead, she just exhaled a sigh, slightly turning back to meet Asta's eyes. "I...I appreciate it."

Asta blinked for a moment, then gave Noelle a bright smile, "Sure thing!"

Aw, what a gentleman. Mimosa thought tenderly.

Blake wanted to ruffle Asta's hair, but Nero was too comfortable there, so instead he just gave him a push on the shoulder. "Nice one."

"Hm, what do you mean?"

"Nothing." He said with a sigh.

"You were resilient as ever back there, Asta. It still seems to be your only virtue though." Yuno remarked with a playful smirk.

"Hey, I got plenty of virtues! Being tough is just my biggest one! Besides, no way am I going down before I get to be Wizard King!"

"It's so sad how delusional you can be, Asta. It'll be me who becomes the Wizard King."

"I'm still not over the fact you'd make me pay half a million yul for rent." Blake remarked, setting his arm on Yuno's shoulder, relieving himself from the pain a little bit.

"It's basic economics, Blake, get over it."

"The hell is economics? You'd been hitting the library often, Yuno?"

"And you need to do it more by the sound of it."

"You calling me dumb, you little punk?"

"I'm not calling you smart..."

"If I may interject," Klaus began, addressing the brothers. "There is something I would like to say to you three."

The brothers blinked at Klaus and taking that as his cue, he quickly took in a breath, before offering a stiff bow, catching everyone off-guard with the action.

"Please allow me to offer my apologies! I disregarded you all simply for being peasants and I now realize how shameful it was to do so!" He bent back up, addressing Blake and Asta. "What I said about you two and your squad was wrong. You are truly great magic knights and I am proud to have you as comrades!" He declared, offering the Magic Knight salute to them.

The three took a moment to let it settle in what just happened, but readily accepted it with smiles, offering the salute in return.

Another noble added to the nice list. It's strange but Blake won't complain.

Black Clover - The Three Brothers

A/N: Feedback is always appreciated!