All ownership and rights of Black Clover go to Yuki Tabata.
Thanks to him, we can enjoy such a wonderful story full of adventure
Now, on with the story!
CHAPTER 1
We are the Exceptions
In the dead night of a city, a young man shambles tiredly from a seemingly old establishment of McDonalds. Being clad in his recently changed hoodie, the young adolescent takes out his phone and checks the time; 8.09 p.m.
"Time to go home." He thought with an exhausted smile. Getting on his rickety bike, he starts cycling home.
The young man pedals through the now dark city block with a purpose, being wary for the dark alleys and shoddy people he comes across on his way. From the city to suburbs, from the suburbs to the countryside, the teen cycles through until he sees the lights.
More specifically, the flickering lights being emitted by a run-down apartment complex just beside a hill. He releases a content sigh.
Seeing that the maintenance man hasn't come to fix the already broken elevator (though he assumes Mrs. Chen did call him), the young adult begrudgingly takes the stairs while barely carrying his bike to the 9th floor.
"Well, it could be worse." He thought as he finally reached his destination, cheeks all red and sweaty "Might've got stuck doing overtime if Dennis hadn't showed up."
Without taking a break, the teen slowly made his way through the hallway, barely lit with the lights on the wall. Passing through the doors of the residents without so much as a glance, he stops at a specific one.
It looks like the same doors he passed, but with the exception that it has his name plaque on it along with the number 906.
Well, it would have if there wasn't the eviction notice covering it.
With a scowl on his face, he rips the note away and briefly skims it for anything notable. Seeing nothing that would raise alarm, he shoves the letter into one of his front pockets. After a few jimmying his key in the front door (gotta remember to tell Mrs. Chen about that), he finally opens the door and walks inside.
Closing the door behind him, he places the worn-out bike at his side before staring right in front of him.
It was only a one room apartment, of course. The cheapest one that his sister could afford. The lights were flickering, the heater sometimes doesn't work and sure, the sink water in the bathroom sometimes turns brown. Mrs. Chen did say the place needed a bit of TLC, and though he tried once or twice (he really did!), he was a far cry from a handyman. The place wasn't great.
But it was home. And that's enough.
He took a few steps towards the refrigerator and opened it. The inside of it was nearly empty apart from a few plastic Tupperware filled with some semblance of food he got from the few times he was able to cook a meal.
"Eh, nothing wrong with leftovers." He chimed to no one in particular, reaching for a blue container filled with some cold ramen. Placing it in the microwave and inputting the time, he leans against the counter with his hands in his hoodie's pockets.
Feeling the brush of paper, he's reminded of the Eviction Notice. Taking it out, he begins to read the note in detail, the sound of the microwave humming and light it emits accompanying him.
He knew that Mrs. Chen hasn't received any rent for the last two months and is telling him that he'd be evicted earlier if it wasn't for his sister's sake. The note later says that she'll be giving him one week to pay before she has to kick him out.
He feels guilty about it, he really does, but he's having some money problems of his own as well. Having a job at your local McDonalds doesn't pay well, and the inheritance his sister and him had mostly been used to get her through medical school.
"You should ask your little sister for some money, lah, ayo." He remembers what Mrs. Chen has said one afternoon when she bumped into him in the stairwell. "You have a fancy doctor as a sister yet you can't ask her for help, such a shame, lah. " she would add before shaking her head while walking away.
He sighs as he places the letter on the counter before taking out his phone. Skimming through his contacts, he finds her number. Summing up some of the bottled up courage he could muster, he dials the phone number.
One beep, two beep, three beep.
It feels like forever before he hears a click.
"Brother, what a pleasant surprise!" he would hear his sister say on the phone, " I'm a bit busy at the moment, but I can always make time for family. What do you need?"
Hearing her be so jovial at times, he can't help but smile as well.
"Hey, kiddo. Er…I was just gonna ask how your days have been going, is all." He would always say, deciding to forgo asking for money. As usual.
"OHH, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, YOU KNOW THAT MADISON DID THIS THING THAT…"
And for more than an hour and a half, he would listen to her talk about life, how she was passing her tests with flying colors, how her life's going great and that she'll probably be able to get hands-on experience next Thursday.
And he listens.
Even after chowing down on the ramen in the microwave, it doesn't stop him from listening with content to her sister's more vibrant life.
"...soooo, that's enough outta me, hehe. How about you? " She asked.
"Hmn, me?"
"Yeah, doofus! Been a while, since we talked, y'know? I haven't been visiting a lot like I promised, but I swear I will when I do get the time." She giggles before asking again. "So, how're you?"
A bittersweet smile made its way to his face.
He didn't have the heart to tell her he was gonna get evicted. Didn't have the heart to say that he needed money from the already dwindling inheritance money they had left. Didn't have the heart to tell her that he wasn't a capable fry cook in a freaking McDonalds outlet.
Didn't need her to hear how much of a loser her older brother was. She didn't need that on her conscience.
"Eh, same old, same old. You know me." He would always say, and she would laugh with mirth, jokingly calling him a stale Andy and boring her to death. They talked for another few moments before she decides to turn in for the night
"It's been fun, bro, but I think I'm done for tonight. I have morning classes tomorrow." she would say
"Yeah, me too, to be honest." He would say back almost instinctively, like a tape recorder. "Have a goodnight, kiddo."
Ending the call, he slides down on the floor and looks toward the stash of manga he keeps under his table. Reaching under it, he pulls out a random one.
Heh, Black Clover, eh?
Been a while since he read this one, to be honest. He looks at the cover of the white-haired boy with the giant black sword. He remembered how awed he was at the boy who wants to become some sort of magic king or something.
My magic is not giving up!
He chuckled remembering the line. How naively he was believing in those words back then, and look at him now.
He sighed before succumbing to tiredness.
The first thing he feels is the stinging rays of light dancing on his eyelids.
Ugh, he was never a morning person since his shift always starts in the afternoon.
He would hear a woman from downstairs shouting someone's name to wake up. Welp, so much for sleeping in. He opens his eyes groggily….
…to a ceiling he doesn't recognize. He blinks gingerly a few times.
"Huh?" He mutters before his eyes widen slightly. Sitting straight like a soldier, he realizes he's in a bed. A way more comfy one compared to his old rickety one in the apartment. He looked around.
Long gone were his simple but clean living room he accidentally slept in.
He was now in a tiny bedroom on the second floor judging by the window beside him. The previous occupant was a messy one, apparently not bothering to clean up after themselves, considering the dire state of the room he was in.
Dirty clothes thrown on the bed, a plate of half-eaten chicken haphazardly thrown into the trash bin beside a study table, as well as books ranging from some weird encyclopedias with technical jargon mixed in with some of the more umm… suggestive titles littering the bedroom floor.
Before he was able to catch his bearings, however, he hears loud stomping coming towards his room.
"SEEKE, BY THE WIZARD KING, THE SUN'S ALREADY UP AND ABOUT, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD." He manages to hear.
In a flash, the door is kicked open as a middle aged woman with blond hair storms in, rage etched in her face. She's wearing a simple blue dress laced with a red ribbon around her waist
GET U…oh, you're awake. WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING THEN?!" She loudly demands before composing herself. She then scratches her head at the seemingly flabbergasted boy on the bed.
"Look, the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony is gonna be held during the afternoons, and unless you want a repeat of last year, you better get your ass out there running." She says, before being disgusted at seeing the number of lecherous books on the floor.
"Uhhh…wh..grimwhats?" Is all the boy manages to say. The woman just scoffs and rolls her eyes.
"Told you a night out trying to pick up girls yesterday was gonna fry your brain." She says, before chuckling darkly and grabbing a mirror from the desk nearby.
"Better take a look at yourself in the mirror though, your highness. Don't want the people to think their Magic Knights would have bird nests as hair." She chuckles as she shows him the mirror.
At a face he doesn't recognize staring right back at him.
He's been walking beside a couple of people his age on the dirt road for a while now. The forest around them thick as they walked and talked, with only the blond boy being silent.
After the whole fiasco in the morning, the woman apparently forced him to change from the awful green pajamas that he had when he woke up to a different fit for his Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony. Whatever that means.
Examining the closet, he settled on wearing a simple black t- shirt under a red jacket. He completed the look with a pair of white slim-fitting pants as well as a few brown belts wrapped around his waist. His seemingly blond bird's nest hair has been combed backwards, being held by a black hairband emblazoned with Clover designs.
Not my hair, this is this guy's Sekke's hair. He thought.
At the midst of going through the shock of what was happening, he was able to figure out at the very least who the person he was inhabiting was.
After kicking out the woman with comical threats of stripping nude right in front of her, he starts searching through the papers on the desk. He was able to discern this guy's name from a Magical Fitness test paper (What now?) with arguably below average marks.
Sekke Bronzazza. 15 years of age, 16 in 3 months.
Then that means that woman with blond hair must be his mom or something since she was living here. He thought as he started changing into new clothes.
Swapping bodies, waking up in a different room, a Grimoire Accepting Ceremony.
He thought it was a dream, believe him. He slapped the hell out of himself so many times that he was convinced that he would have woken up. Yet all he felt was the burning pain of failure. Oh, and real pain.
So it looks like he's going to be stuck here for a while. Seemingly in another world, with someone else's face, going to this weird meeting that he honestly never recognizes.
He would be lying if it didn't excite him, though.
The thought of being isekai'd is a phenomenon mostly in mangas and some animes that he had grown to loathe over the past couple of years. But the real deal?
He's seen what people could do here. They can seemingly make fire out of thin air as well as create objects out of nothing. People fly on brooms instead of driving in cars.
Being transported to another world filled with magic and other possibilities? Now that's something he could get behind on.
At least let me be a bit selfish
He walks robotically as he becomes lost in thought, thinking about what said possibilities could ensue when he feels a hand grab his shoulder.
"WHOA?!" he yelped before looking behind him. One of the participants he seemingly supposed to know, a boy with black hair, looks at him with amusement.
"Damn, Sekke, you okay man? Never thought I'd see the day you'd be this nervous!" He says with a chuckle. The other laughed along. "Had been calling your name for the past minute, y'know?"
Right, he's not gonna be going by his old name. He's Sekke now. Might as well play the part then.
"Just lost in thought is all, no harm done." Sekke chuckles nervously " What's up?"
To which the boy responds with a laugh.
"Seriously?! Dude, you're almost walking the other direction when we're almost here." The boy said before pointing his finger to the other side.
He was met with a gigantic tower made of stone, with people his age (well, Sekke's age) flocking towards it. Alongside each side of the tower are two columns with red pointed roofs.
Huh, why does it feel like I've seen this before? He thought as he hastily walked towards the tower.
Entering the giant double sided door, he was amazed by how many people there were crowding the place.
Lining the walls were books. Lots of books. From the bottom to the top of the tower. From what he could sparsely infer from the people around him, they were called grimoires. Books filled with spells that far exceed their own natural magical capabilities. And here he was, waiting to get one of his own.
"Starting today, I'll be a full-fledged mage." Sekke heard someone behind him say. Turning around, he sees a smug-looking noble boy with shoulder length blond hair. Behind him, another boy clad in a green dress shirt under a brown vest surveys the scene around him.
"Hey, look…" he says in amusement, grabbing the attention of the blond noble and unintentionally, Sekke.
"See those paupers?" he says, and Sekke had to take a double take.
NOW I KNOW I RECOGNIZE THOSE TWO he thought as he looked towards where Brown Vest Guy was pointing at.
One of the boys in question was cool-looking, hands at his side with a neutral expression. His black messy hair and golden eyes compliment his pitch dark shirt and light red pants, giving him a suave, renegade look. This was Yuno Grinberryall, an apparent prodigy in magic.
On the other hand, the boy beside him was in a squatting position, with both hands clenched in fists of anticipation. He had emerald green coloured eyes as well as a black headband wrapped around his light gray hair. The dark blue jacket and pants he had on honestly were two sizes smaller on him. To everyone around Asta, he looked like a doofus. However, Sekke can't contain his surprise.
"ASTA?!" he cried out, only to shut himself up when said boy looked in the direction of where he once was, just as surprised. In a flash, Sekke quickly hid behind the nobles, much to their annoyance.
"You know those paupers?" the blond noble scoffed at Sekke, to which he replied with a shake of his head.
"Nah, just know them by name, to be honest." Sekke said nervously.
Ignoring Sekke, the brown vest guy decided to add his two cents to the conversation. "Honestly, what were they thinking of, letting those two insolvents in?" he said before continuing "Grimoires shouldn't be passed out so indiscriminately to people like them."
The noble voiced his agreement to the matter, but Sekke frowned in disgust.
Ughh, I remember these two. They're the worseeee.
"I heard that the little runt over there can't even use magic. What a fine specimen he would make."
"He's basically a national treasure!" the noble said with a chuckle, much to the amusement of both of them.
Yup, the worse.
Before Sekke could argue with them, a booming voice could be heard from above.
"Welcome to all who have come. "
Everyone, from nobles, to commoners to paupers gazed upward as an ancient looking man with a shaggy white beard clad in full wizard garbs starts to descend quickly into a podium on the front part of the Grimoire Tower.
"On this day, you will each be setting foot on your own path" he starts "May integrity, hope and love be with you."
He walks off the carpet as he addresses the awestruck crowd in front of him.
"I am the master of this Grimoire Tower," he says.
"Nobody from this region has ever become a Magic Knight, much less a Wizard King." he continues, captivating the crowd of teenagers "I wholeheartedly hope that one of you will one day become the Magic Emperor…."
"I'M SERIOUS!" …before comically shouting with his right eye open, spit flying everywhere. Seeke deadpanned at that.
After composing himself, he addresses the crowd once more.
"Now then…Accept your grimoires!" he announces.
In an instant from these words, grimoires from around the tower began to leave the shelves to gradually float around, glowing a myriad of bright rainbow colors.
Red, green, blue, white, any color that you can think of is there, littering the airspace around the tower in a beautiful display of light.
"Woah…" Seeke exclaims in awe.
It didn't last long though, as the grimoires began to float towards the audience below. As if by instinct, the boys and girls outstretched their hands to accept them in their arms.
"This is the grimoire that belongs to me!" said a red dress girl as it floated right in front of her.
"Mine is bigger than yours!" said a guy, showing it proudly to his friend beside him. "Mine is thicker!" said friend would reply.
"Yes, I'll finally be able to get out of this tiny village!"
"I'll carry on the family business."
"This is my grimoire?" "Why is mine so small?" Sekke snickered as he heard some of the people around him complain.
"I'll decide what to do after my grimoire has more pages filed out." another girl says.
"Six months from now, we'll be taking the Magic Knight Entrance Exam." Sekke could hear the noble beside him say with a smug look, a light brown grimoire in hand. His friend also has one, apparently.
Before he could respond in a dead-pan fashion, Sekke felt a gentle nudge behind his head. Turning behind him, he was awestruck with what was in front of him.
A light-blue grimoire is floating on his eye-level. On both sides of the cover, said grimoire has a large T insignia with a dark-coloured horizontal line in the middle. A three leaf clover is seen stamped on the top right of its front cover.
This grimoire has chosen him as its master.
Accepting it in his arms, Sekke opens the grimoire up to excitedly examine its content. On the first page are lines and diagrams filled in with English comments. On spells and incantations that honestly seemed pretty complex. However, Sekke surprisingly understands them.
Sekke Bronzazza's Grimoire
Bronze Creation Magic: Sunlit Halberd
A creation magic type that materializes a bronze halberd in the user's hand. Though straightforward in nature, in its simplicity lies its unbridled potential.
Bronze Creation Magic: Gliding Star
A type of creation magic that manifests a hoverboard completely composed of bronze with intricate designs. The user can use this as a form of transportation as well as ramming into opponents.
Bronze Creation Magic: Crescent Buckler
Another creation that forgoes complexity in exchange for easy usage and flexibility. It creates a translucent shield for the user lined with intricate moon emblems.
Sekke stares at the content in the book before testing out the incantations. Indeed, he does feel slivers of dirty green gray pigments manifesting in front of him. So this Sekke guy can control bronze, huh?
"My grimoire is not here yet…"
Sekke was brought out of his musings when he hears a commotion not far from him. Looking towards the sound, he sees Asta, crouched down on one knee and hands outstretched towards the sky above, seemingly asking the Grimoire Tower master.
"Hmm…" the old man pondered.
"Maybe try again next year?"
"WHHHAAAAAATTTT?!" Asta exclaimed, incredulous with what the man said.
Around him, people around him stopped staring silently and started laughing at the comical sight in front of them, a boy with no magic.
"He has no competition when it comes to being a good-for-nothing." the noble besides Sekke said, apparently amused with Asta's flabbergasted expression.
"Eh, who knows. You might be surprised with what's possible and impossible in this world, you know?" Sekke smiles knowingly, catching the noble by surprise.
"Pffft, you honestly think that that cur could…?" the noble was cut short when a flash of light suddenly shines from the other boy beside Asta.
Yuno stares blankly in his hand as the grimoire he was holding turns into a bright gold, shining brightly whilst grabbing the attention of everyone around him. After the glow died down, the grimoire changed greatly. With intricate designs scattered on its covers, a single symbol etched onto the front page.
"A four leaf clover?" the master of the Grimoire Tower exclaimed softly.
"The legendary four-leaf clover?" the noble was flabbergasted, earning a chuckle from Seeke. Guess their haughty pride couldn't accept that paupers can be powerful too, huh?
Everyone began to fawn in awe, and with good reason too. The Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire was apparently used by the First Mage Emperor to defeat an enormous demon years ago. And now, it seems to have finally found another user in Yuno Grinberryall, a dirt-poor commoner, as the noble had solely called him.
"I will become the Wizard King." he announced to the crowd around him, much to their delight and awe.
After a moment of silence, the audience around him cheered loudly.
"AWESOME!" the crowd responded. Sekke just smiled, amused with the situation before tucking his grimoire tightly under his arm.
Asta, who had been crouching in defeat, starts to stand up.
"Yuno…" he starts, earning a side glance from said boy "You just wait, I'm going to catch up with you…"
"Because I'm your RIVAL!" Asta exclaims, turning towards Yuno with a fierce expression with a fist oustretched. A silent moment crept around the crowd.
"Rival? Is he serious?"
"How does he have the nerve to say that?"
"He doesn't even have a grimoire!"
The crowd would start flabbergasting as Yuno had a slightly surprised expression. Just as quickly as it came, though, he returned back to his neutral poker face before walking past Asta.
"Not possible" was all Asta heard before Yuno kept on walking.
Seeke sympathized with the white haired boy. Despite knowing what the future would lie for him, it would've still hurt when your seemingly rival doesn't even consider you as a threat. He watches on as all the once bright fire inside of Asta starts to fizzle out..
As people started to leave the Tower, a man with long dark unruly hair chuckled darkly to himself.
"What a lucky find…" he said with glee "In such a tiny and remote village. " He said as he walked towards the exit, a nefarious plan forming in his mind.
This did not go unnoticed by Sekke, however.
I could just let this situation play out on its own, to be honest… Sekke though.
Buuuut, it does sound like fun to mess around a bit. Away from the source material. He chuckles before deciding to wait near the front of the exit for a certain black haired individual.
Yuno was one of the last of the participants of the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony to leave the Tower. Apparently, the tower master wanted to praise him for acquiring a Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire as well as wishing him the best of luck in his future endeavors. He accepted it gracefully before heading back downstairs.
Noticing that Asta is no longer there, he deduces that he has left alongside Sister Lily, Father Orsi and the others. Though the more logical conclusion he would soon come up with would be that his rival would be continuing his rigorous training under the skeletal remains of the demon.
He huffed in annoyance as he gripped the Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire snugged tightly in his hip satchel. Here he was wasting away his time when he should be training as well.
There was no doubt in his mind that Asta had been chosen.
His gray haired friend has an almost uncanny ability to make the impossible possible. Though his parting words might seem harsh to some, he'd hoped that it would give his rival more of a push to prove to everyone, especially him, that it was never impossible. It was always something he both admired and envied him for.
Six months before the Magic Knight Entrance Exam Yuno thought to himself
Guess I should start by refining my wind magic control and getting used to the newer spells I have. Maybe ask Sister Lily if she'd have any tips on mastering how to meld the right amount of magic power and incantation to produce the best results…
"Yo. Yuno, right?"
He was brought out of his musing when a certain blond boy seemingly loiters around the front door, calling in front of him with a shit-eating grin. About his age, Seeke had his back against a wall with his left hand outstretched in a small wave. He seemed like he had something on his mind to say to him.
Yuno was gonna ask if he knew who he was, before instantly recognizing the voice in front of him. Apparently, he heard an unrecognizable boy calling Asta by his name in the crowd before the grimoires were handed out. Though he wasn't able to discern the one that said it, he did make out a certain black headband with clover designs hastily trying to hide out of sight.
The headband that's currently on the head of the blond boy right now.
"How do you know Asta?" Yuno asks suddenly, straight to the point.
Any wind left in Seeke's sails completely blows away alongside his confidence at what he has to say. His face says it all as his cheeks decompress, any air inside of them exhaled in an untimely fashion.
Bingo.
"W..Whatchu mean by that, man?" Seeke tries to play it cool, hands wrapped around his chest a little too tight.
"You did call him by his name earlier."
Swift and brutal Seeke thought as he deadpans. Yuno reaches under his chin with his left hand. "I was wondering if you knew him from somewhere."
Welp, I did think of an excuse if anyone did ask this. Didn't expect him to ask it this early though.
Here's to hoping he doesn't poke more holes in my logic.
"Well, word got around in the grapevines and neighboring villages. Said something about a gray-haired boy from Hage who didn't have any magic. Called himself Asta, I think. " Seeke said with a shrug, hopefully it seems nonchalant and not pure desperation.
"I was just surprised that he went with the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony despite not having, you know, the main component of using magic; magic."
"I wasn't aware that he was that famous." Yuno said, his brow furrowed in suspicion. Ah, drats, he's not buying it at all!
"W..Well, that's besides the point…" Seeke said, clearly trying to change the subject. Though intrigued, Yuno decided not to press the point. "What I do want to say is that, you gotta be careful."
At this, Yuno started to raise an eyebrow. Sekke continued.
"Just saying, man. Having a Four-Leaf Clover like that…" the blonde points to Yuno's grimoire "...is bound to garner some unwanted attention. Both good and the less…unsavory ones."
"I'll manage." Yuno says coldly, surprising Sekke , before he heads for the door outside.
"Hey, now, come on. Just wait and let me expla…" the blonde started as Yuno pushed the double doors open. Immediately, the evening sunlight gazing through the sky made way to two shadows standing on the stone walkway in front of Yuno and Sekke.
"Ah, welp, speak of the devil." Sekke said with a grin. Though he earned a side-glance from Yuno, the dark-haired boy said nothing
"You."
Sekke could hear the venom in the noble's voice, with all the poison he could muster being directed at Yuno. Beside him, Brown Vest Guy was apparently trying to dissuade the boy from doing something he'd regret. The haughty noble chose to ignore his henchmen's pleas, however, instead focusing on the dark-haired bastard in front of him.
" We should've been the stars of the show today." he declared, eyes closed in sympathy for himself, before turning towards Yuno with a fierce glare.
"Well, star is an understatement, to be honest." Seeke chimed in with a shrug. "More like a wet rag on a stoked fire, in my opinion."
"Shut it, cur!" The noble lashed out before continuing.
"Instead, a mere commoner received a lucky four-leaf clover! " he said angrily as he prepared a spell from his grimoire, making it radiate red hot magic energy around it. In response, Sekke instinctively reached for his grimoire at his back before being flabbergasted at Yuno's response.
A bored expression.
"Hey, wai..!"
"That grimoire…I'LL BURN THAT THING UP!" The noble declared, casting a stream of fire magic, a Fire Stream, towards Yuno. Sekke flipped through his grimoire in search of his Cresent Buckler spell, but he didn't have to.
With just a flick of his hand, a powerful gust that turned into a tornado wrapped around Yuno protectively, cleaving the burning stream in two. Sekke had to cover his eyes with how strong the torrents of wind were.
Man, seeing it onscreen is one thing. But being face to face with it is an entirely different rodeo. Seeke thought.
After extinguishing almost every bit of flame there is, Yuno stood in front of the quivering noble, unscathed and unharmed. His hand outstretched downward, with his eyes closed boringly.
"He snuffed out my blaze without even using his grimoire!?" the noble exclaimed, taking a few steps back in astonishment. "H..Hey, help me out" he called out to his friend.
"But…" Brown Vest Guy said
"Do it!" the blond noble demanded, much to the chagrin of his henchmen.
"A..All right!" he finally said, taking a battle stance.
But Sekke knew what was going to happen next. Without warning, he casted a magic energy ball towards the duo, much to their surprise! Even Yuno was taken aback slightly by how quickly he casted it.
Seeing it coming, however, both nobles quickly jumped out of the way of the condensed magic missile. Only to be even more surprised when chains from various locations start to spring out from the walls and grounds around them, smashing into the area where they once were.
A certain white-haired boy was jumping from tree branch to tree branch, apparently training. Hearing a distant scream from afar however, Asta turned around with a look of worry and determination.
As both the nobles were quivering in shock after what had transpired in front of them, distant footsteps coming closer can be heard walking towards the quartet.
"Shame. And here I thought I'd be able to use those two idiots as hostages…'' an icy voice said as a man in a red cloak came to view a distance away from Yuno and Seeke.
"H..HELP!"
"MOTHER!"
Gripping the terror in their throats, both of the once prideful nobles began crawling hastily in fear towards Yuno and Seeke. Or rather, the door behind them.
"O..Oi!" Seeke managed to say. In one swift move, however, both the nobles got to their feet and ran past the two commoner mages, opening the double doors quickly before slipping inside. Leaving both Yuno and Seeke out to face the unknown chain magic user.
So much for thinking of ganging up on him… Seeke deadpanned at the thought.
"Ah well, I'll be long gone when those two come back with help…" the chain user smiled wickedly to himself, unnerving Seeke.
"Who are you?" Yuno asked in his nonchalant expression. Seriously, does nothing faze this guy?
"Probably someone with a bad hair day, if you look at those locks of his." Sekke chimed with a shit-eating grin as Yuno side-eyed him.
"Rare to find someone with such a sense of humor nowadays…" The long haired man chuckled in amusement, the red cloak he donned sashaying against the calm wind.
"I'll enjoy wiping that grin off your face."
The calm before the storm.
"Not long ago, I was known as Chain Magic Revchi of the Magic Knights." he chimed with a smile, a grimoire already floating in front of him. " I've had a bit of fame, but I've been reduced to a lowly thief after being expelled! "
Chains begin to form from blue portals in front of Revchi. Seeke, noted however, that his back was unguarded.
So confident that he doesn't need to guard his rear, eh? Think I could sneak one in if I'm quick enough… Seeke thought, preparing a Bronze Creation spell behind his back.
A moment of silence ensues between the trio, neither moving or doing anything.
"Now I'll be taking that GRIMOIRE!" Revchi exclaimed
"MOVE, YUNO!" Seeke shouted
Wasting no time, the blond mage pushed Yuno aside, shocking the prodigy! Chains then seem to spawn from underground, smashing into each other since their intended target moved.
I've seen it twice now! This guy takes his time to hide where the chains will spawn before releasing them towards his target. He's more of an ambush predator than a fighter! Seeke thought as he crouched low to the ground.
A quick glance between each other as Seeke motions to Yuno before sliding forward.
I need a distraction!
Quickly overcoming the shock, Yuno outstretched his right hand towards the expelled magic knight, his grimoire opened in his left. He fully intended to retaliate with a few Wind Blades.
Revchi never took his eyes off him, though.
In one quick motion, chains erupt from the wall facing right side of the dark-haired mage, holding his right hand in place!
"Kuh..!" the dark haired boy managed to say before several more chains erupted from the ground below him. With the chains wrapped around the boy tightly, Yuno can feel his magic being suppressed.
"That's one tiger with his claws peeled off." Revchi said in delight, before paying attention to the other blond mage.
If only the blond mage was still there, of course.
"Where did…?" Revchi managed to blurt out before hearing dirt being kicked up right behind him. The chain user glanced behind him in shock! Even Yuno, who had been chained up, was taken a bit by surprise by the bold plan the blond mage had thought up!
Somehow, the blond mage Seeke was able to give the experienced magic knight the slip, standing a bit too close behind the Chain User. And just out of range of any Chain Portals he hid around too! Concealed in his hand was a sharp metal dagger formed in bronze.
If looks could kill, Seeke's determined eyes says it all.
"Come on!"
The blond mage swung the half-formed spear in his hand, fully intending to puncture the Chain Mage.
Not having any professional training or any battle experience made him slow, however.
As if in instinct, Revchi jabbed into the hand that held the dagger, disarming the boy momentarily.
And that was all the chain user needed.
Jumping backwards, chains begin to push against Seeke, slamming him in the ground. His arms only managed to block a few before being overwhelmed by the masses of iron.
In another few moments, Seeke has been wrapped in chains as well.
Damn, using magic in battle is WAY more different than just casting it leisurely! Seeke thought as he struggled against the chains, to no avail. He was able to practice a bit with his bronze magic while waiting for Yuno in the Tower, but to cast it during a fight was a whole different ball game.
"Huff…that…really got me frightened for a moment…" the fallen magic knight managed to chuckle nervously before composing himself. He languidly strutted towards a now chained up Seeke.
In one quick motion, he kicks the blond mage in the gut, knocking the wind out of him!
"I'M JUST GLAD YOU'RE ALL STILL WEAK CHILDREN!" He laughed maniacally, before switching his attention to Yuno. A chain wraps around the Four-Leaf Grimoire that has now been splayed on the ground before making its way into Revchi's hand.
"Did you say your name was Revchi?" Yuno asked, his face still as nonchalant as ever.
"There's no point in stealing a grimoire since-"
"A grimoire can only be used by its chosen master." Revchi cuts Yuno off by finishing what was on his mind. Grinning from ear to ear, however, he continues "Even so, a Four-Leaf Clover will fetch a fortune in the black market!"
"Though you were chosen, you're still an inexperienced fighter." He continues to monologue. Blud really tryna rub it in, huh? Seeke deadpanned, though was still in pain after the kick to the stomach.
"It's a shame that you ran into me. Your legend has ended before it began." Revchi managed to say before hearing a chuckle. Looking closely, however, he spotted an aqua green pendant in the shape of a teardrop with a dark cross on it wrapped around the prodigy's neck.
Before he was able to comment on it, however, he heard a chuckle from behind.
"Eh?" he looked back at the blond mage who was sprawled on the ground. Seeing the long haired man, however, pulled him into hysterics. Even Yuno was bewildered by this sudden show of carefreeness.
Annoyed, the fallen magic knight tightened the chains around Seeke, earning a strained expression on his face. This quickly disappeared however when he continued to giggle uncontrollably in spite of it.
Frustrated, Revchi stomped towards the blond mage and pushed his boot straight onto the blond boy's stomach.
"What's so funny, huh?" he demanded, his blood vessels straining.
"OH, MAN." Seeke said, with some blood trickling from his mouth and a black eye from where a chain smashed into him. His face, however, sported a shit-eating grin.
"You, of course. Riding on the cloud of all high and mighty, gloating big on how you'd stopped a legend from beginning. Really have that villain mentality down to a pat, eh?" He chuckled, earning him a scowl from the fallen magic knight. Revchi removed his foot from the blond mage's stomach, fully intending to kick him again.
"People like you really crack me up sometimes." Seeke said before narrowing his eyes, he's now in a crouching position with one knee on the ground despite being in chains and in pain.
"Here you are being all intimidating when you're just a small part in someone else's story!" Seeke exclaimed, surprising both Revchi and Yuno.
"HOLD IT!" a voice shouts out from above.
Speak of the devil and he will come, as they say Sekke thought as a kid with white hair soars through the sky.
Before said boy crashed into a wall and landed face first into the stone pavement.
Seeke mentally facepalmed.
After one quick recovery from Asta, he pointed towards the blond mage wrapped in chains.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted "I came to rescue you…what?"
Seeke deadpanned. Well, at least he has his priorities straight. After a moment to think, Asta quickly switched to the other person present.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He finally demands, pointing towards the chain user with Yuno's grimoire in his hands. Finally, we're getting somewhere.
"That grimoire belongs to Yuno. What is it doing in your hand?" Asta accused "You despicable thief!"
"Aren't you the poor little fellow who didn't receive a grimoire?" Revchi mused, his right hand under his chin.
"You know it! " Asta chimed honestly, much to an even exasperated Sekke's chagrin.
"Yes, I'm that poor little fellow. A grimoire belongs in the hands of the one it was bestowed upon! Give that back to Yuno! "
"This sort of thing happens all the time, y'know?" Revchi giggled darkly, before a blue portal began to open up. "Why don't you just drop dead now?"
"RUN, ASTA!" "GET HIM, ASTA!" Both Yuno and Sekke shouted in unison.
Didn't need to tell the white-haired boy twice.
"As if I would run away from a lame opponent like him!"
After a bit of a blundering start, the white-haired boy started sprinting towards the fallen magic knight as chains began to appear out of the portal. Countless chains begin to strike at Asta, with the boy dodging at every move.
A surprising chain whips and tries to attack Asta at the last minute, but the boy was able to jump high enough for it to miss. In one swift dash, he was able to get behind the chain user. Winding up his right hand into a punch, Asta right hooked the man with all his strength…
"Watch out!" Seeke called out. The chains around him start to rattle, struggling against his determination.
…But it didn't connect. Learning from his past mistake against a certain blond mage, Revchi placed a blue portal aimed right at his back. As such, he was able to wrap the chains right around the waist of a now restrained Asta!
"IT'S NOT OVER YET!" Asta shouted, his teeth clenched. Trying his best to fight against the restraints, but to no avail.
"No, it is." he says as chains begin to form above the white haired boy. Oblivious to this until the last moment, Asta had no time to dodge this powerful attack
Dance of the Pitless Viper!
…Or he wouldn't if a certain blond mage didn't intervene.
"I SAID, WATCH OUT!" Seeke shouted, kicking the white haired boy in the face. Due to all the focus being committed to the fight, even Revchi was dumbfounded for a moment at how the blond boy was STILL able to move in spite of the chains covering him. Much less have enough kicking power to knock Asta aside!
The chains start ripping into both the boys. However, Seeke received the brunt of the attack as he pushed the intended target out of the most lethal range of it. Two chains with sharp points begin to rapidly approach the two boys as it slams straight into them.
Damn, he wasn't lying when he said this was a powerful attack, Seeke thought, before both boys were slammed into the adjacent wall by the force of the chains.
After the dust settles, it's shown that Seeke was the one that had been slammed into the wall while Asta merely skidded beside it.
Asta immediately crouched to stand up, looking to Seeke in concern.
"ARE YOU OKAY?!" He asked, panic and worry etched in his face directed to Seeke. "Why the hell would you do THAT?"
Despite the comical red imprint of a boot on Asta's face, Seeke couldn't bring himself to laugh with how much pain he was feeling.
"I…ha..thought I told you to watch out..." Seeke chimed weakly, his vision already waning. Damn, don't blackout now!
Asta switched his view towards a certain fallen magic knight who slowly came into view, his fierce look of determination breaking. Although Seeke couldn't read minds, he knew exactly what Asta was thinking at the moment.
So this is what mages outside the village can do.
As much as I've trained, I'm no match for him.
"It's useless to fight back." Revchi exclaimed, a few more chain portals manifesting. With no time to react, Asta was launched into the wall yet again.
He now towered in front of Asta, his shadow covering him. "Nice try."
As he said this, a boot launched into Asta's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"No, not yet." Asta whimpered, like a mantra. "I'm going to be the Wizard King…"
"Wizard King? You?!" The chain user Revechi exclaimed, high on delight "With a touch of these chains, I can sense the magic within an individual."
"You don't possess an ounce of magical power." Asta widened his eyes at this, while Seeke closed his eyes in sympathy.
"You were probably born that way. It's not surprising that you didn't receive a grimoire." he gloated. "In a world where magic is everything, you have no power at all! You sure are a precious specimen!"
What? What the hell does that mean?
Does that mean that I won't be able to use magic no matter how hard I try?
"What a pitiful poor fellow. You'll have trouble making a living, much less becoming the Wizard King!" He smiled, earning an eyebrow raise from Seeke.
"Your genius friend over there must think nothing of you." he iterates by rubbing his boot into Asta's shoulder while pointing at Yuno, who was silent all this time.
I guess so…
Yuno is so amazing that he was chosen by a four-leaf clover, while I…
That was it, wasn't it? Yuno was amazing and he wasn't. That's why he trained.
He always knew that he didn't have magic, but he chose to believe. Believe that, if he never gave up, if he just worked harder, magic would come naturally later.
I'm just a late bloomer!
He'd always thought
I'll get my magic when my grimoire comes to me!
"You won't be able to achieve anything in this world." Revchi chortled.
"You should just give up. You were born a worthless loser!"
And yet, here Asta was. Facing an unbreakable wall of facts, splayed right in front of him with no way up or through it.
He's right…
No matter how much I try, I'll just be wasting my time…
I should just give up…
Yes, giving up…is all I can do.
The once hopeful white-haired kid closed his eyes in reluctant acceptance. To this, Seeke struggled against his chains to retort before realizing something. He smiled to himself.
"Oi"
Yuno suddenly chimed in, surprising the chain user. " Who are you calling a loser?"
"Asta, it's true that you'll never become the Wizard King" Yuno said, apparently reinforcing the chain users words.
"You hear that? Even your friend says you can't-"
"That's because I'll be the Wizard King! " Yuno declared.
"Wha-"
"He's no loser." to this, Seeke smiled in amusement, his magic swelling up as well, surprising the chain user. I thought I suppressed that blond bastard's magic! What is happening?!
"Asta… ASTA IS MY RIVAL!"
Asta looks up in shock towards Yuno, but before Revchi can respond, a chuckle can be heard from a certain blond mage.
"The loud bangs of church bells that ring on a breathtaking Sunday morning…" a crack can be heard.
"The inevitable flow of the waves crashing in the moonlight sea…" then ripples from the chains that cover Sekke begin to shake
"The sound of cicadas in the summer nights echo the impenetrable wall of life…" Revchi panics as some chains begin to break. He tries to reinforce them, but fails miserably.
"HOWEVER…" all the chains begin to break away and disappear, as a confident Seeke begins to walk out of the bindings with relative ease, shocking both Revchi and Yuno! Asta stared towards him with a wide-eyed expression.
"We three are the exceptions!" Seeke announced, straightening his red jacket and flashing his stupidest grin towards the chain user.
Yuno was dumbfounded with this development! But how did he…? He looks around to where the blond mage was originally bound and notices the parts where the chains broke. Specifically, the bronze layer that embedded themselves against the chinks in where chains connect.
I see! He thought as he looked towards Seeke with newfound respect, in spite of his warm smile. He slowly embedded chunks of his bronze magic inside the link of chains. Not in large pieces, but rather small unnoticeable ones that can easily slip past suppression detection. Since the magic chains are usually linked in one way, he just needed to bide his time to cut through only a few links instead of the many. Did he even use the Dance of Pitless Viper to his advantage to weaken the chains?
So many possibilities came to him that he didn't even notice Asta grabbing the fallen mages boot with renewed determination.
"I'm not done yet…" Asta shouted as he pushed the boot off of him. Revchi was flabbergasted that he took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this, Yuno." the white haired boy said, before looking towards his side. Revchi steps backward in panic, chains retracting behind him
"And Blondie, thank you. "
"It's Seeke, but yeah. " the blond mage steps beside Asta, hands stretched upwards. Doesn't feel like I've broken a bone, though. The people in this world are surprisingly very durable!
" Need a hand? " Seeke outstretched his hand towards a fiercely determined Asta.
"Just give me a second..." Asta said, declining, before turning towards Revchi with a demonic glare.
"I'm going to beat him to a pulp!"
Black lighting can be heard as a pitch black aura filled with malice can be felt.
A grimoire suddenly appeared, floating down towards the white-haired boy.
No, he's a white-haired mage now. Seeke thought with a smile, laying his back against the wall with a sigh.
"A grimoire?" Asta whispered, hardly believing his eyes.
Though it looked all brown, weathered and dirty, there was no mistake that it was indeed a grimoire. Swirling with black and red energy, a single symbol can be seen embedded in the front.
A Five-Leaf Clover.
Everyone apart from Seeke stared in awe as the book floated in front of Asta.
This malicious grimoire had chosen Asta as his master.
"I knew it." Yuno said with a smile. "There's no way that Asta wouldn't be chosen." Be it now or the past…he has always done the impossible!
The grimoire flipped itself as it stopped at a page filled with indescribable scribbles in dark red ink. And through the pages, a large greatsword begins to materialize.
The sword seems to be mostly covered in dirt and scuff marks. The blade and the hilt are separated from each other but are connected by the fuller. Ending with the hilt of the blade, the blade towers over the average person and has a pointed tip while its black base is pointed inward.
All in all, a very intimidating sword. As the blade fully materializes a few feet in the air, it crashes into the stone pavement beside Asta.
"Th…that is your magic?!" Revchi exclaimed, frightened. "You don't have magical powers!"
"So where did that grimoire come from…!?" Revchi demanded, with Seeke dusting off his Three-Leaf grimoire with an exhausted smile.
The three leaves of a clover hold integrity, hope and love.
Revchi backs away from the awakened white-haired mage, the Four-Leaf Clover grimoire belonging to Yuno falling at his side.
The fourth leaf represents good luck.
Asta grabs the hilt of his sword, his Demon-Slayer Sword, as his Five-Leaf grimoire floats beside him. Dark shadows swirling the wall in the shape of a terrifying apparition.
In the fifth leaf…dwells a devil.
Been writing this for a while now and I've just finished it. It's my first time writing, of course, so there was a few things I would've loved to work on, but oh well.
Any reviews are welcomed, of course! Till next time :