I do not own Black Clover or any of its characters.
Selection Test: Finale
Yuno. After a massive, devastating, awe-inspiring battle between Yuno and Rill, during which Yuno revealed his ability to assimilate with Sylph and use Spirit Dive, Rill's Magic Crystal, which had been with Rill, crumbled under the strain of the monstrous power of their final attacks clashing. Dane would be facing Yuno in his own match, with Sol and Leopold as his teammates.
"Are you fit to compete?" Julius asked.
"I am," Dane nodded, standing. "Sol, Leopold, are you ready?"
"Yeah!" Leopold grinned.
"Let's do this," Sol agreed.
Dane looked to Julius, and Julius nodded.
"Very well," Julius accepted.
"As promised, we have one more match," the mage announcing the matches spoke up, his voice magically amplified. "Team P, consisting of Yuno, Noelle, and En will face off against Team Q in a special match.
"Who's Team Q?" one of the mages standing around asking, everyone turning to consult the bracket.
"WHAT!?" nearly the entire audience roared.
"Team Q will be comprised of Dane from the Black Bulls and two volunteer teammates, Sol from the Blue Rose Knights and Leopold from the Crimson Lions!" the announcer informed the audience.
"Let's go get ready," Dane said, forming a platform large enough for his team, both stepping onto it together. "Remember the plan."
"Do you really think you can handle him?" Sol asked as Dane began to fly their platform out to meet Yuno and his team. "After what we just watched?"
"If he can use Spirit Dive again, no," Dane admitted. "But that's where our insurance policy comes into play."
Sol nodded and Leopold grinned, punching his palm.
"We've got this!" Leopold grinned.
Dane landed in front of Yuno's team and Yuno sighed.
"You good for one more match, Yuno?" Dane asked.
"Yeah," Yuno nodded. "Are you? After fighting Yami..."
"I'm good," Dane promised. "I'm under control, and I'll give you a fitting final match."
Yuno nodded. "Alright. We should get into position."
"Good luck," Dane smiled, waving at Yuno's team.
All three smiled and raised a hand as Dane flew his team to their starting position where their crystal waited.
"Okay," Sol said. "He'll be coming the moment the match is announced."
"Yes, he will," Dane agreed. "Start with the big one, then the small ones."
Sol nodded, and a moment later, the call to start went out. Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, they heard the tell-tale sound of Yuno's acceleration breaking the ground, but he was already too late for an instant victory. Dane's Grimoire snapped open and Dane's hands slammed into the ground. Three dozen new Magic Crystals formed, Leopold resting his hands on Dane's back to supply Mana to charge the decoys for him as Sol formed four of her massive stone golems to swallow the real crystal and three decoys, then formed a dozen of her smaller golems. As Yuno appeared over the horizon, Dane raced around, his hands brushing all of the golems and transforming them all into Diamond Metal. Then, Leopold leapt onto one of the decoy golems while Sol leapt onto another decoy golem and they all charged off to meet Noelle and En. Then, Dane turned his eyes to Yuno as Yuno raced down to meet him.
"Time to pull out all the stops," Dane smirked.
Then, he slammed his hands into the ground, and the world around him exploded, hundreds of massive stone and steel spears, all with rounded tips, erupting from the ground and spraying up at Yuno. They left safe spaces around the crystals, but Yuno was far from deterred. His Towering Tornado decimated the incoming projectiles, and a moment later, he sent another massive amount of Wind Magic to destroy the field of Magic Crystals Dane was protecting.
"I don't think so," Dane smirked, a Diamond Metal sphere closing around them all.
The tornado turned the spheres into projectiles, scattering them at random around the testing ground, and while some of the Crystals shattered inside of their spheres, most were fine. Yuno narrowed his eyes, then nodded, turning to face Dane first. Dane smirked, then slapped the ground with one hand, a tsunami of stone erupting below him, carrying him into the air.
"Decoys," Yuno mused. "Not bad."
"Thank you," Dane smiled. "Shall we?"
"Yeah," Yuno nodded.
And then, it was chaos. Yuno began to fire off a slew of massive, powerful Wind Magic attacks, massive birds of Wind, razor-sharp Wind Magic blades, Towering Tornados, and a dozen other attacks Dane didn't realize Yuno had assaulted Dane, only for Dane to masterfully control the mass liquid stone he was riding to send attack after attack out at Yuno, walls of steel blocking Yuno's strike. However, before long, Yuno's raw speed had forced Dane to begin racing around his mass of stone to avoid the attacks, sending attacks out at Yuno from all over, any graze of his palm, finger, or feet sending out enormous stone fists or square beams at Yuno, only for Yuno to constantly avoid them. Then, Yuno got in close to Dane and Dane narrowly evaded a point-blank blast to the chest, ripping a Diamond Metal sword with a broom-stick-shaped blade from his stone mass, lunging and striking out at Yuno, who spun and twirled as he evaded Dane's both close-range strikes with his sword and strikes from the mass of stone by Dane's magic.
Sol growled in effort as two of the massive golems clashed with a pair of En's Towering Mr. Mushrooms. The other pair were hiding away from the battle, one decoy and the real Magic Crystal's bearer. And as Sol was clashing with En's mushrooms, her smaller golems were charging relentlessly at Noelle, only for her to endlessly blast them away with blasts of her Water Magic, the crystal protected by her Sea Dragon's Lair. Finally, Leopold made his move just as a pair of the golems caught Noelle's arms.
"Flame Magic, Spiral Flame!" Leopold shouted.
Twin jets of flame exploded down on the Sea Dragon's Lair. The barrier crumbled instantly, and Leopold's flames smashed the side off of the crystal.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Noelle shouted.
The Sea Dragon tore through all of the smaller golems, gathering them all, though not damaging them, then slammed them into Leopold, launching him across the battlefield with them, sending him away from the battle without serious injury. Sol growled in annoyance as she finally destroyed the two Towering Mr. Mushrooms, and turned on Noelle.
"Here we come!" Sol grinned, then swore, leaping off of the golem as the Sea Dragon returned, exploding into first one golem and smashing through its chest, then the other, smashing both Crystals before fading.
"So they really did have decoys," Noelle said as the match wasn't called.
"Sorry to disappoint you!" Sol grinned. "Now that Yuno's scattered the others, you'll never find them all in the thirty minute time limit!"
Noelle paled, then shook her head. "Yuno will handle that! You're not breaking our crystal!"
"We'll see!" Sol grinned. "Now!"
The ground below Noelle and the crystal erupted, even more of her smaller Golems erupting from it. Noelle shrieked in surprise and fear, only for a trap circle to appear under the crystal, mushrooms sprouting over all of the golems, absorbing their mana and growing into much more muscular Towering Mr. Mushrooms.
"Sorry about that," En said. "We took a page out of Xerx's playbook. Traps aren't my specialty, but they can be useful."
Sol swore as the dozen massive mushrooms stomped toward her, cracking the ground. "This is gonna hurt!"
"Spiral Flame!" Leopold shouted, blasting two of the mushrooms and sending them crashing into two more, all four crashing to the ground as Leopold landed at Sol's side. "We're not done yet!"
"Right!" Sol nodded, forming another golem. "Let's go!"
Then, they all stopped, turning as a massive explosion of Wind Magic erupted in the distance, blowing Dane's mass of stone apart.
"Dane!" Sol gasped. "No way!"
Dane groaned as he pushed himself up, reforming the Diamond Metal sphere he'd shielded himself with into armor.
"That takes care of that," Yuno said. "This time, you won't have time to form another one."
Dane laughed. "This is more fun than I thought! Raya!"
His armor shone and Dane exploded off of the ground, a dozen stone fists flashing past him at Yuno, only for him to blast them all before beginning to flip and spin around Dane's blunt sword, countering when he could, only for Raya's speed to allow him to avoid the strikes. Then, just as Yuno shot backward and formed a Towering Tornado, Dane shot the other direction, escaping the strike.
"Spirit Magic, Pixie Dust!" Raya's voice rang out, a massive swarm of glittering motes of light flashing forward and erupting into a trail of explosions, pursuing Yuno as he raced through the air.
Yuno countered with a constant stream of Wind Magic attacks, but as a full flock of Wind Magic birds swarmed toward Dane, Dane grinned, snapping rapidly. Tongues of flame raced out, erupting into explosions and dispersing the attacks before beginning to chase Yuno as well, Dane's attacks aiming ahead of Yuno as Raya's pursued him endlessly. Explosions of flames and Light Magic began to erupt around Yuno, who began to shield himself with a combination of Mana Skin and an aura of Wind Magic, still countering rapidly. Then, suddenly, Dane's right hand thrust forward and a trail of destruction exploded into Yuno before Dane curled his hand into a fist and ripped it back, a vacuum sucking Yuno back in, into a cloud of ozone just as Dane snapped his fingers. Yuno swore, creating a Towering Tornado around himself, and instead of a massive explosion, the explosion ignited the tornado into a massive, flaming cyclone, though Yuno escaped with only minor burns.
"Spirit Magic, Starburst!" Raya shouted, a third arm protruding from Dane's chestplate firing a beam of magic, which exploded into Yuno, sending him exploding to the ground.
Yuno groaned as he stood, then narrowed his eyes. "Spirit Assimilation, Spirit Dive!"
As Yuno and Sylph fused, a wing formed behind Yuno's left arm, a ring of crosses appeared around his left arm, and half of a crown appeared on the left side of his head as his left arm began to shine with Sylph's magic. This was the technique he'd used to clash with Rill the final time.
"Are you ready?" Dane asked.
"We've only got one shot," Raya warned.
"So does he," Dane smirked. "All or nothing!"
"Spirit Dive!" Dane and Raya shouted together.
Dane's armor exploded off of him as his body shone blindingly for a moment. As the light began to fade slightly, though still painful to look at, Dane hovered just above the ground with his hands out to his sides in a deific pose, a pair of golden, feathered wings spread out to the sides and down from the small of his back, a halo of pure light decorated the air just above his head, his body was encased in golden, form-fitting armor, a star decorated the center of his chest, and his palms shone with Light Magic.
"You too?" Yuno asked.
"It's a new skill to us," Dane admitted. "Would have been useful against a few of our enemies, but it's a bit of a double-edged sword, since we can only use it for a single attack. So, shall we see whose spirit is stronger?"
Yuno's eyes narrowed dangerously. He seemed to understand. Sylph had obviously explained to him the difference in power between herself and Raya after she realized that Raya was with Dane.
"Let's go," Yuno nodded. "Wind Spirit Magic-"
"Light Spirit Magic-" Dane chanted.
"Spirit Storm!" Yuno shouted.
"Shooting Star!" Dane finished.
As Yuno's massive beam of Wind Magic erupted across the ground, all of the light surrounding Dane, including his armor, condensed into the star on his chest which erupted away from him, leaving a blurred trail behind it as it expanded as it flew. Then, as the two blasts clashed, they both halted for a moment. Then, Dane's attack began to overpower Yuno's. At the last second, just as his power faded, Yuno dove out of the way, narrowly evading the blast, which erupted into a truly massive explosion of Light Magic in the distance. Yuno stood, breathing hard, as Sylph appeared on his shoulder, also panting. They looked to Dane as Raya appeared at his side, both of them sweating and breathing hard, but both grinning.
"You're strong," Yuno admitted. "I didn't expect you to have the same ability as me."
"Like I said, it's new," Dane said. "That's only the third time we've used it, and it doesn't always actually fire successfully."
Yuno nodded, then straightened up, extending his arm as Dane sank to his knees. "Are you done?"
"Hardly," Dane smirked.
Chains of Diamond Metal burst from the ground, rapidly binding both Yuno and Sylph, dragging them to the ground.
"Looks like my victory," Dane grinned.
"Team Q's crystal is destroyed!" the announcer called out. "Team P wins!"
"What?" Dane blinked. "How?"
Yuno sighed in relief.
Sol grunted as she crashed to the ground, her golem crumbling as the last three enhanced Towering Mr. Mushrooms tore it apart. "Damnit!" Sol growled, glancing at Leopold, who had been caught between a blast from Noelle's magic and a Towering Mr. Mushroom's fist, rendering him unconscious, then at Noelle, who was panting for breath. "No choice! Get out here!"
After a moment, the two remaining golems, who had the real and decoy Magic Crystals in their chests, exploded out of the side of the mountain, almost instantly taking down two of the Towering Mr. Mushrooms. As the third began to grapple with the golem bearing the real Crystal, Noelle grinned, watching the other advance on her and the crystal.
"It's that one!" Noelle grinned. "Water Creation Magic, Sea Dragon's Roar!"
The spell erupted from her wand and crashed into the shoulder of the advancing golem, blasting its arm off and knocking it to the ground, then raced through the air, exploding through the last golem's chest, shattering the Magic Crystal before punching through the Towering Mr. Mushroom as well.
"Team Q's crystal is destroyed!" the announcer called out. "Team P wins!"
"Damn!" Sol swore.
"Well done, Noelle!" En smiled, only for both to realize Noelle had passed out after her attack.
"Shit," Sol sighed. "I just wanted to make Char proud!" She sighed, pushing herself up, and walked over to Leopold, only to stomp on his stomach. "Wake up!"
Leopold groaned, holding a hand to his stomach as he stirred. "Rude. Did we win?"
"No," Sol sighed. "We lost. Help me get Noelle back to the others. She used up all her power and passed out."
Leopold sighed, nodding, and they walked over, waking her more gently than Sol had woken Leopold before helping her stand.
"You did great!" Leopold grinned. "That was an awesome match!"
"Thanks," Noelle smiled. "You guys made a great team, too."
"As if!" Sol scoffed. "Only one of us got knocked out."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Leopold apologized. "I got careless."
"Come on," Noelle said. "Let's find Dane and Yuno and get back to the others."
They all nodded, and together, they started back toward the building the spectators were watching from.
Dane sighed as he sipped at the mixed drink Vanessa had made him. He hadn't expected Yuno to push him quite that hard, but he also shouldn't have been surprised. Yuno was exceptional, and his bond with Sylph was strong. Dane smiled. Sylph had chosen well. She was in good hands with Yuno.
"I can't believe Sol lost you that match," Vanessa complained.
"It's fine," Dane waved her off. "She just miscalculated how sharp Noelle is. I'm more impressed that Noelle was able to punch through Diamond Metal. You've got some terrifying power, Noelle."
"Of course I do," Noelle scoffed. "I'm a Royal."
Dane rolled his eyes. "Please tell me that piece of filth is in jail."
"Unfortunately not," Charmy said, sitting beside him as an adult as she set down large plates of food for the other two. "He's still being treated for injuries, but it's unlikely he'll be arrested. Demoted, maybe, and maybe earn a black star or two, but not arrested."
Dane sighed, kissing Charmy before she turned back into a child, all three beginning to eat. However, just as they did, someone began to pound on the door hard enough to shake the whole house.
"Damn, that's the biggest owl I've ever heard," Magna said, since the results were supposed to come by owl post. "Well, whoever you are, you can quit bangin' the door down already." He began to walk over to open the door.
"Magna, I wouldn't," Dane said, standing as the banging continued.
"If you're looking for Captain Yami's Black Bulls, you've come to the ri-"
The door exploded, slamming into Magna mid-sentence.
"Whoa!" Asta shrieked. "What just happened!?"
The dust quickly cleared, revealing Mereoleona looking murderous.
"Hey, I recognize her," Asta realized. "That's Fuegoleon's sister!"
"Mereoleona!" Dane greeted her cheerfully.
"Mereo!" Raya greeted in a cheery, flirtatious tone.
Then, both turned to glare at Asta. "Did you get us kidnapped again?"
"That wasn't my fault!" Asta shrieked instantly, everyone but Mereoleona laughing.
"Dude, what is this about?" Magna asked as Charmy ran over to Mereoleona with a cupcake. "Is the Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings really here?"
"Mm-hm," Luck nodded.
"Yeah, Captain, why're you showin' up on our doorstep outta nowhere?" Asta asked, running over to Mereoleona.
"It's Mereoleona!" Mereoleona snapped, punching Asta in the face and sending him crashing backward across the room. "Or Mereo, for Raya, Dane, and their girlfriends."
"Wow, what's with the special treatment?" the others all asked.
"Hey, why is it so damn noisy in here all of a sudden?" Yami demanded, walking into the room. "Sheesh, can't a guy even take a du...Oh." He spun back toward the room. "DANGEROUS ANIMAL ON THE LOOSE! ! ! EVERYBODY, HURRY UP AND GET OUT OF THE BUILDING NOW! ! ! TRUST ME! ! ! IF YOU GET CAUGHT, JUST PLAY DEAD! ! ! DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT OR IT'LL EAT-"
Mereoleona's flaming cat paw slammed down on Yami's head, cutting him off and slamming him to the ground as another paw set a bottle in front of him.
"Shut up and take this!" Mereoleona snapped. "Moron."
"I don't mind them being a little wild," Raya flirted, stepping up beside Mereoleona.
"Down girl," Dane smirked.
Mereoleona flashed Dane a smirk and slapped Raya on the ass, Raya yelping in surprise and pain before grinning widely and making a surprisingly realistic purring sound.
"What is it?" Yami asked, ignoring Raya and Dane. "Let me guess, some kind of poison drink that'll tear holes in my throat and make me spit fireballs, right?"
"It's for visiting my brother!" Mereoleona snapped, letting Yami up. "Do you have a death wish!?"
"I didn't need a thank-you present for that," Yami sighed as Mereoleona walked over to him. "Besides, if this is what a beast like you drinks, I guarantee it's not fit for human consumption. Don't want it."
"Then I'll kill you!" Mereoleona snarled, a fire paw gripping him by the throat and jaw.
"So you came here to kill me, and you've already moved on to killing me?" Yami asked.
"I'll thank you then kill you!" Mereoleona snapped.
"Man, you do not joke around!" Yami noted.
"That's because I hate jokes!" Mereoleona shouted.
"Captain, you sure you don't want this?" Vanessa asked, leaning over to get into his line of vision, holding the bottle, which Dane noticed was sake. "Fine! I'll take it!"
Her red fate-controlling cat stuck its head out of her hair, meowing.
"Oh, I understand now," Asta said, finally having recovered from the punch. "You're only here to talk to Captain Yami, that's all! What a relief! And here I thought I was about to get dragged off to somewhere crazy agai-"
He stopped as a flaming paw lifted him by the head again. And then, Mereoleona grabbed Noelle, Luck, Raya, and Dane as well.
"You five, come with me," Mereoleona growled, turning and walking away with them.
Luck began to cackle instantly as Raya hummed flirtatiously, Asta and Noelle shrieking in fear.
"I like it," Raya purred. "I could definitely get behind being dominated."
Mereoleona's scowl cracked into a smirk for the briefest of moments before returning to a scowl. "I'm not into girls."
"I can corrupt you," Raya smirked.
"I don't like this!" Asta shrieked. "Where are we goin'? It's somewhere bad, I just know it!"
"Wait!" Noelle shrieked. "Why am I getting dragged off, too!?"
"Maybe there's gonna be a fight!" Luck cheered.
"Why aren't you freaking out!?" Noelle demanded, staring at Dane.
Dane shrugged. "If she was going to hurt us, my impulses would warn me."
"Hey, Captain!" Noelle shrieked. "This madwoman is trying to kidnap four of your squad members! Don't you think you should do something!?"
"As long as she leaves, she can do whatever she wants!" Yami called back to her.
"Yes she can," Raya invited.
"What do you mean she can do whatever she wants!?" Asta shrieked. "If you don't help us, we're gonna be barbecued! Come on, Captain, you can't let her do that!"
Magna laughed. "If it's only you five she wants, then you musta done somethin' really rotten! You deserve this! Especially you, Luck!"
Mereoleona stopped, turning back to them. "These are the squad members who passed the Royal Knights Selection Exam."
"WHAT!?" Magna shrieked.
"We made it?" Noelle gasped.
"So we're in the Royal Knights?" Asta asked. "That means even though I lost the tournament, Yuno didn't get ahead of me! We're still neck-and-neck in the race to be the next Wizard King!"
"We told you," Dane said. "Even the Wizard King. Losing the tournament doesn't mean you don't get in."
"THIS IS GREAT! ! !" Asta shrieked, then turned to Noelle, who was suddenly blushing bright red. "Hey, Noelle! We're gonna be awesome Royal Knights!"
"Yeah, sure," Noelle said dismissively. "Just don't rush in on your own again and ruin things for the rest of us."
"Mereoleona," Dane said, getting swung around in front of her. "Thank you for coming to get us."
"Just following my orders," Mereoleona said. "Besides, you're going to make sure that I didn't lie when I told the King that you'll be an asset."
Dane's eyes widened. "You got me into the Royal Knights?"
"You need this more than anyone," Mereoleona said. "I overheard your conversation with Sol."
Dane nodded seriously. "Thank you. I owe you."
"No, you don't," Mereleona said, then stopped, frowning. "Actually, wait. There was supposed to be one more Black Bull who made the Royal Knights."
"Really?" Vanessa and Magna asked. "There's one more?"
"Um, I'm sure that it was probably me," Magna said, stepping up beside Mereoleona.
"If you don't see him, it's-" Dane began.
"It isn't you!" Mereoleona snapped at Magna to shut him up.
"Finral is still recovering," Dane said seriously, Mereoleona swinging him and Raya around in front of her. "I can send Raya to get him, but she's also still restocking her mana, so she'll have to go back to her home until the fighting starts."
Mereoleona nodded and released Raya. Raya gave Dane a quick kiss, then placed a kiss on Mereoleona's cheek just before vanishing just ahead of Mereoleona's flaming cat paw. Mereoleona sighed heavily.
"Let's go," she sighed.
And then, she carried them off to where they were to be sworn into the Royal Knights.
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