I do not own Black Clover or any of its characters.
Light and Dark
"You have injured my compatriot. It's only fair that I return the favor."
Dane stared at the man who'd attacked and so easily wiped them all out, but he could barely make the man out.
"It's him," Asta said. "The guy we saw at the group's hideout!"
"Light Magic, Angelic Respite," Raya said, a sphere of light appearing around Dane.
The spear through his chest vanished instantly, and glittering, golden light began to shine from inside of his wounds as they began to seal slowly.
"Oh, my," the man said. "Are you a Spirit? You're certainly beautiful. You must be Raya, the Spirit of Light."
"I am," Raya nodded. "I won't let you hurt Dane again."
"Is that so?" the man asked. "I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"
He leaned forward slightly, allowing himself to be visible. He had blonde hair in cornrows, a blue robe with a full-length, white cloak over it, then a blue poncho above that, some sort of gold headdress decorating his forehead and the top of his head, earrings, markings around his eyes that Dane couldn't see well enough to identify, and a shining, gold aura around the Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire open at his side. In his arms was Sally, though Dane wasn't sure when he'd retrieved her, and he didn't know who the man behind the attacker was.
"I am the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun," the man introduced himself. "Call me Licht."
"Raya..." Dane croaked. "His...Grimoire."
"Stop talking!" Raya snapped. "I know. He's dangerous."
"Take...Take care of them," Theresa choked out. "The children. It's always the same. Whenever there is...violence, the children are always the ones that suffer. They are the ones I wanted to take care of the most...And so I left the battlefield behind...and devoted myself to the church." She coughed up blood.
"Sister!" Asta shouted.
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Licht scoffed, allowing all of his projectiles disappear. "No one is pure. You're all tainted by sin from the moment of your birth."
"You're insane!" Asta snarled, drawing his swords from his Grimoire.
"Asta...no!" Dane croaked. "You can't...face him!"
As he stared at Licht, who was crying, despite the smile on his face, and worrying over Sally, Dane felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. Fear. Terror. Abject horror. Licht was a monster in so many ways. Not least among them was that he was the strongest being Dane had ever seen. Dane hadn't even known he was there before being struck. He was too strong. Stronger than Raya. But Dane was powerless to stop her from fighting. Powerless to help her fight. He was weak. He had always been weak.
"Valtos," Licht intoned.
"Yes, sir," the other man said, extending an arm.
Darkness spread below Sally, and Licht released her, allowing her to slowly float down toward the darkness.
"Bye Asta," Sally called out. "Catch you later. Don't forget, precious. You belong to me."
Then, she was gone. Dane looked down at his wound. It was barely halfway healed. He needed to heal faster. He reached over, but shining chains of light bound his arms.
"No," Raya said firmly. "Stay here and let my magic heal you."
"If you die..." Dane croaked.
"I won't," Raya promised.
"You're saying that we fight dirty!?" Asta was snapping. "After what that crazy lackey of yours did to those poor kids!?"
"You know, the sister was wrong before," Licht mused. "It isn't the weak who pay. Not at all. It is the strong who have been victimized. Envied, feared, discriminated against, persecuted, and stolen from."
"Raya," Dane croaked, staring up at the dozens of projectiles spread around the roof of the chamber.
"I know," Raya said, crouching and preparing herself.
"For its crimes, the Clover Kingdom cannot be forgiven," Licht declared. "Instead, we will destroy you, as you so richly deserve, and build a nation of our own!"
"Where do you get off acting like we're the bad guys here!?" Asta demanded. "You and your group of psychos started all this! You jerk!"
It took less than an instant. Even Raya couldn't react. The projectile pierced Asta's thigh dead center, piercing bone but missing blood vessels. Nonfatal, but enormously painful. Dane swallowed hard, glancing at his wound again. Almost there.
"I refuse to listen to that kind of filth," Licht stated as Asta screamed in agony. "It's painful, really. Seeing someone as disgusting as you with that Grimoire."
Asta let out a shout, charging, holding his large blade in front of himself like a shield. "I'm not done!"
And then, Licht was behind him. "Yes, you are. I'll just be taking that Grimoire back from you now."
A sphere of light began to gather in his palm. Asta began to turn. And then, Raya slashed the sphere, scattering it into fragments just as Yami dropped from one of Finral's portals, slashing at Licht. Licht blocked it with one of his projectiles, wielding it like a sword, only for Yami's katana to smash through it, though it missed Licht.
"Captain!" Dane gasped.
"No way!" gauche breathed.
"Captain Yami?" Asta breathed.
Licht vanished in a flash of light, reappearing off to the side, Raya instantly swiping her arms over herself. Her swords transformed into a massive flash of light, and in an instant, all of the projectiles Licht had hovering around the room were blasted apart.
"What are you doing here?" Asta asked, glancing between Yami and Finral, who had landed behind Yami.
"What am I doing here?" Yami asked. "Well, kid, I guess I must have gotten lost. Anybody know where the bar is?"
"Really!?" Asta shrieked. "You were looking for a bar!?"
Yami picked Asta up by the head. "Geez, you got rocks in here instead of brains? That's what people call a joke."
"What!?" Asta shrieked.
"I'm a Magic Knight and there's trouble," Yami said, setting Asta down and looking to Raya. "Raya."
"Yami," Raya nodded. "Be careful."
"You, too," Yami said. "Dane's a good kid. I'd rather he survive today."
"You knew?" Dane asked.
"Of course I knew," Yami scoffed, looking back at him. "Got you with a surprise attack, huh?"
"I couldn't even tell he was there until after I got hit," Dane said.
"Once you're healed, suit up with your Grimoire," Yami said. "Time for you to vent."
Dane swallowed hard, shaking his head. "I can't fight him."
"You can," Yami said. "You're stronger than your mother, but she would have stood and fought. Are you really going to smear her legacy?"
Dane's eyes went wide. Was he serious? His mother would have fought? Against a freak like Licht?
"When one of the members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun showed up, Raya came to get me, just in case this guy showed up," Yami explained. "Then she raced back here to help. Looks like you've gotten a little slower, Raya."
"Nevermind that," Raya said.
"You...called for help?" Dane asked.
"Yes," Raya nodded. "I have all the faith in the world in you, but even you can't handle this foe alone. But with our help, it should be a cake walk."
"But...how?" Dane asked.
"The same way you fought Mars," Raya said. "Something special you need your Grimoire for."
Dane's eyes went wide.
"Hey, Asta," Yami said. "What are you knuckleheads doing, anyway? I gave you all a day off. Maybe what you need is a more permanent vacation."
"Someone kidnapped a bunch of children while we were visiting the village," Dane explained. "Including Gauche's sister."
Yami hummed thoughtfully, nodding. "What's up with this guy, anyway?"
"He's got Light Magic, and a Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire," Dane explained. "He's fast, accurate, and cruel."
"Sounds like you," Yami said. "The magic's going to be a problem."
"So, the Captain of the Black Bulls came himself," Valtos mused, jumping down next to Licht. "Should I summon the Third Eye, now?"
"No need," Licht smiled. "You see, the captain here is a wielder of Dark Magic. I'll enjoy pitting my power against his in battle. And as for the Spirit of Light, well...It will be an honor to test myself against her."
"And if the other one should join the battle?" Valtos asked, looking to Dane.
"There's nothing he can do," Licht snorted. "He'd hold them back."
Dane glanced down at his wound. Almost there. He wouldn't make the start of the battle. Just then, as Finral was preparing to take Theresa back to the village, and Yami was ensuring he knew he wasn't allowed to decide not to return, Licht fired at Finral, only for Yami to slash the projectile, destroying it.
"Are you tryin' to mess up my ride or somethin'?" Yami asked darkly.
Finral lifted Theresa and speed-walked over to Gauche, quickly opening a portal. "All right, I'm off! Gotta get these people to safety!"
"You better be coming back, you hear me, Finral!?" Yami shouted, but the portal was closed before he could finish more than three words.
"He's not coming back," Dane rasped.
"So cool!" Asta squealed. "How'd you know that strike was coming!? What kind of sword is that!? Where'd you get it!?"
"Shut up, wouldja?" Yami snapped tiredly. "This is a katana. It's from my native country, the Land of the Sun. I blocked his hit by-" He stopped as more projectiles began to appear around Licht. "Ah, nevermind. No time to explain. Besides, it's boring that way. Just watch."
"Engage Light Magic," Licht said as Raya reformed her swords. "Light Swords of Conviction."
And then, the projectiles were firing in a massive flood. But not just at Yami. At Dane, too. Yami's sword turned black as his arm became a blur, slashing all of the projectiles coming at him. At the same time, Raya appeared in front of Dane in a flash of light, her entire body shining as she lunged, flipped, and twirled, her shining swords blurring around and shattering everything that approached Dane.
"Alright, let's try something else," Licht said, appearing behind Yami, preparing the same spell he'd tried to kill Asta with, only for Yami to slash it as well. "Impressive. The power of an unorthodox Grand Magic Knight."
"Hold on," Yami narrowed his eyes. "You know, I think I recognize you from somewhere."
Dane turned away from Yami to where projectiles were still testing Raya's ability to defend Dane. No, not testing her. Keeping her busy so that Licht could face Yami. But it was fine. He was healed.
His Grimoire snapped open, and he slammed his hand into the ground, a wall of his special diamond metal bursting from the ground between Raya and the projectiles. The projectiles began to shatter against it, cracking it slowly, but not breaching it. And then, the healing spell around Dane pulsed outward, shattering all of the remaining projectiles. Then, as Dane rose, liquid metal flowed over his body, rapidly forming into a complete suit of diamond metal plate armor, complete with a helmet and a full face mask, one styled as a skull.
"Time to give in to your impulses, Dane," Raya said.
"Yeah," Dane nodded, drawing his sword. "Let's rip him apart."
They both turned toward where Yami was struggling to land a hit against Licht, and together, they both exploded forward. Licht spun, evading both of their strikes, and both instantly ducked out of Yami's way, allowing him to continue his assault.
"What's your angle?" Yami growled. "You go around attacking people just for kicks?"
Licht vanished just in time for Yami and Raya's blades to meet, Yami's slashing through Raya's. However, as Licht appeared off to the side, Dane began to rapidly snap his fingers, Licht retreating from a string of explosions, which shattered the barrage of projectiles he'd prepared initially.
"My angle?" Licht asked, firing a pair of projectiles out of his palm at Dane, who ducked aside, one of the two grazing his shoulder and making him stumble, only for Raya to slash the next projectile. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, in a certain village, there lived people who had tremendous magic power." He began a fresh flood of projectiles, at all three this time.
Dane grit his teeth, his impulses roaring in his ears as he held his hands to the floor, a flood of steel fists erupting from around him and crashing into the projectiles, blocking them but exploding a part as a result, though he couldn't form his diamond metal fast enough to hit Licht, so he stuck with steel.
"They were special," Licht continued. "Greatly loved by the mana of this world. They could control the weather. And manipulate the minerals. Their powers were truly godlike. Indeed, those outside their village came to revere them as divine beings. But then, the people's feelings began to change. Their respect and admiration became fear and envy. They slaughtered their gods in a cowardly surprise attack, and stole their power."
"What kind of story is that?" Yami asked around his cigarette. "Who cares? He broke free of his flood of projectiles, charging closer, only for Licht to begin spraying projectiles at him again. "You planning to become a bard?"
"Just DIE!" Dane roared, a single diamond metal fist exploding up and through the sea of steel fists, then through the projectiles and at Licht.
Licht began to focus on it more, chipping off pieces rapidly, only to accidentally form it into a spike that grazed his side as he moved to avoid it. And then, Raya reached him, slashing at him rapidly, only for Licht to deflect several strikes with his projectiles as swords before vanishing, reappearing off to the side again. As he did, however, Yami was nearly at him already.
"I've got a story of my own you might like to hear!" Yami called out as he began to deflect the stream of projectiles Licht sent at him. "There was once a young man with a bright mind and a pure heart. His father was a fisherman who sent him out to work the sea at a young age." Yami stabbed his blade into the wall as Licht appeared behind him, Licht's blast missing Yami as Yami flipped over his sword. "Then one day, his boat got wrecked." he ripped his sword from the wall, chasing Licht toward the ground, slashing again and again. "He fell into the water and washed up on an unknown shore!" A stone pillar stopped Licht's retreat, only for Licht to flip backward, narrowly evading Yami's blade before Yami pursued him, surrounded by a dozen extending, stone spikes, which raced out at Licht. "He looked and acted different than the people there, so he got the crap beat out of him a lot! But that was okay! Because he turned around and beat the crap out of them and then became a badass squad boss! The end!"
Licht vanished and reappeared beside Valtos, only for the ground below the two of them to erupt into a cloud of spikes, grazing both of them in several places.
"You're focusing too much on Yami!" Dane grinned wickedly. "Hit 'em!"
Licht vanished just before a massive blast of Light Magic exploded into Valtos.
"Well?" Yami asked. "I think it's a pretty good story. Course it is half my life, so there's that."
"Enough story time," Dane growled. "Let's just kill him!"
Licht narrowed his eyes, then opened fire, only for all three combatants to instantly notice the issue. His projectiles were even faster. Dane grit his teeth as he and Raya began to struggle, Yami managing to hold his own after the first shot managed to graze his shoulder after he smashed the back end.
"If you truly are a foreigner, then my story has nothing to do with you," Licht intoned. "In which case, feel free to leave."
"Raya!" Dane shouted as the projectiles began to break through his steel fists closer and closer to him.
"Right!" Raya called out, vanishing in a flash of light.
A split-second later, Dane's sword and armor began to shine, his power skyrocketing, and he ended the steel fists in favor of drawing his sword and taking off at a sprint, narrowly managing to stay ahead of the projectiles.
"Damn you!" Licht snarled. "Hold still!"
He adjusted his aim, and Dane began to snap his fingers rapidly, causing him to once again begin to teleport around and around the room. As he did, Yami continued to fend off the projectiles, only to continue to accumulate small gashes.
"Are you the guy who messed up Fuegoleon so bad?" Yami demanded. "Huh?"
"That's right," Licht nodded. "I prepared so very carefully, and he walked right into my trap."
"Figured as much," Yami nodded. "These little darts wouldn't do anything to a guy like him! He'd take you down!"
And suddenly, Yami was moving again, slashing anything that managed to target him while rapidly closing on Licht, who'd stopped moving when he'd finally managed to pin Dane down and forced him to start blocking projectiles again, as he had before. However, as Yami continued to press Licht hard, the projectiles stopped, allowing Dane to watch as Yami pursued Licht up one of the walls, then across the ceiling. When Licht vanished, Yami slashed the stalactites off of the ceiling, then sent one hurtling at Licht, only for the fight to continue on the ground even more destructively than before.
"Raya," Dane said, Raya separating from him. "Are you on Yami's level?"
"He'd beat me, but this level of fighting isn't out of my scope," Raya said. "You'll be there soon."
"How?" Dane asked.
"Yami's increasing his physical abilities with Reinforcement Magic," Raya said. "It's the same as what we can do for you, but I'll teach you to be able to do it for yourself, after we survive this."
"If," Dane corrected her. "Be ready to support Yami."
"Dark Magic, Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!" Yami shouted, slashing toward Licht and sending an arc of pure darkness smashing through the projectiles at him.
This time, unlike any of Yami's previous strikes, it sliced a scratch into Licht's cheek. It was no more of a wound than Dane's scratch on his side, or the handful he'd given him with the ground spikes.
"Of course you used a trap," Yami growled. "You couldn't win unless you played dirty."
"Why, you..." Licht snarled.
"Stop dancing around and come at me head-on," Yami ordered. "I'll show you what a Squad Captain can do! Think you can handle it?" He turned, looking back at Asta. "Hey, kid, were you watching?"
"Uh, y-yes, sir!" Asta stammered.
"That's good, because now it's your turn!" Yami called back at him.
"Yes, sir!" Asta shouted, then blanched. "Wait, what did you say!? There's no way I can do that!"
"Yeah?" Yami growled, holding him up by the head. "Well, last I checked, I'm still your captain. Which means, if I tell you to do something, you do it. Assuming you wanna be a real man, Shrimpsta."
"Asta," Dane said, walking forward. "I'll help."
"Dane..." Raya began.
"It's fine," Dane said, stabbing his sword into the ground, forming himself a pair of diamond metal daggers, which he held in reverse grip. "I'm going to try something new."
Raya hesitated, then nodded. "I'll step in if you get in over your head."
"Light Recovery Magic," Licht said. "Healing Light Particles."
"Come on!" Asta groaned. "He can use recovery magic, too!?"
"I haven't seen it myself," Yami said, "but apparently, people who've got a lot of mana can wield all kinds of different magic. It's especially rare for attack types like him to be able to heal, too." He narrowed his eyes as Licht began to prepare projectiles again. "Nevermind that for now. You ready to go?"
"Please, Sir," Asta pleaded. "This is impossible! I can't do what you just did! You remember I can't use magic, right?"
"I'm not talking about that last attack, moron," Yami snapped. "I meant this move here where I block his stupid lightning bolts." He demonstrated a particular slash just in time to shatter a light projectile. "See?"
"But how can I hit something if I don't even know it's there!?" Asta demanded as Yami slashed another.
"Guess I've got no choice," Yami sighed. "I'll explain it to you once. For five hundred yul."
"Take the deal, Asta," Dane said, twisting his heal and forming a steel wall beside him that blocked a few shots.
"You wanna know how I've been able to respond to his attacks?" Yami asked. "It's 'cause I've been pickin' up on somethin' that the people back in my country call 'ki.'"
"Ki?" Asta asked. "You mean you weren't sensing his mana?"
"Nope," Yami said. "A person's glance, their breathing, their scent, the way their muscles move, the hint of their presence. Taken together, all of that living energy people give off. That's called ki. All I've been doing is reading his ki and using it to predict his movements. You've never done anything like that before?"
"Actually, yeah," Asta admitted.
"That's my fighting style," Yami said. "I combine the ability to sense ki with my magic and the strength of my muscles. Think of it as me being a buff magical swordsman!"
"You're not kidding about the buff part!" Asta complimented him. "Your neck's as thick as a tree!"
Yami chuckled. "Have you seen your neck lately?"
"Captain Yami," Dane called out, watching Yami still fending off a continuous barrage from Licht, who was allowing them to have their conversation. "I'm starting."
Yami nodded, but just as he did, a pair of portals appeared behind Dane and Asta. Yami blocked the shot aimed at Asta, but Dane tilted his head to the side, avoiding the violet ball of fire aimed for him.
"You little shit," Dane said. "Asta, the teleporter's yours."
Then, as Asta began to freak out, Dane took off, focusing. He had never tried Enchantment Magic before. He'd never needed to. He'd always had enough power as it was. But this time, he needed it. So he focused. He worked his magic like never before, and within a few seconds, he was racing across the chamber. Licht narrowed his eyes, turning his aim on Dane, only for Dane to begin to flip, spin, and slash, moving in a white streak, his arms blurring, smashing through every single projectile Licht sent at him. However, his daggers couldn't withstand the projectiles for long, and within a few more seconds, they shattered. Dane flipped out of Licht's aim instantly, slamming his hand to the ground as he landed and sending a wave of diamond metal fists exploding toward Licht as he narrowed his eyes. As soon as Licht had teleported out of the way of the fists, Dane narrowed his eyes.
"You're too mobile!" Dane growled, then grinned wickedly. "Let's fix that, shall we?"
Then, the room exploded. Hundreds of diamond metal arms exploded from the floor, walls, and roof of the cavern. Many attacked Licht, but for the most part, they simply criss-crossed across the cavern, exploding into the far side. Within seconds, the entire cavern was unrecognizeable. It was filled with enormous clusters and branches of diamond metal arms. The interior of the cavern now more closely resembled the interior of a hive, with small micro-chambers and small gaps through which to travel from one to another.
"Hey!" Asta shrieked. "What the hell, Dane!? How the hell am I supposed to fight like this!?"
"Practice your ki," Dane said, pulling a diamond metal dagger from the floor of the cavern. "Now, then, Licht. I'm coming for you!"
"Not bad," Yami nodded. "He blocked off Licht's line of sight with something Licht's can't just shatter easily. Now Licht can't fight from range."
Dane laughed darkly, the laugh rapidly growing to a chuckle as he raced through the maze of tunnels and chambers in a blur. He flipped through an opening into a larger chamber just as Licht entered it from another tunnel. Licht huffed, immediately snapping his arm up, only for Dane to cackle, swiping a hand. A wave of destruction smashed the projectile he fired instantly, slamming into Licht and blasting him into a wall, only for Licht to fire another. Dane slashed it, but it smashed his dagger. And then, as Dane landed, the diamond metal beams around them all suddenly bristled with spikes, grazing Licht before he vanished. Dane cackled, taking off again, this time brushing his hands against every beam he could reach. One by one, they all turned into a liquid. And then, as he sensed Licht's mana, he clapped his hands, spikes and fists errupting from the room he was in, forcing him to retreat again. And yet, the more Licht fled, the more chambers came alive, striking out at him over and over before reforming themselves into the maze of tunnels again. And then, finally, Licht had arrived, just as Dane reformed the sword he'd left with Raya. Licht formed a pair of swords, shouting in effort as he struggled to fend off Dane's blade for several long moments. Then, Dane grinned just as a spike burst out of Licht's abdomen.
"I probably should have warned you," Dane smirked, resting his sword on his shoulder, only for its blade to crumble. "I'm not a sword fighter. Ta-ta."
He leapt backward, his arms extended and the air blurring before him, rapidly spreading to fill the chamber as all of the paths sealed. Licht began to try to remove himself from the spike, only for chains of diamond metal to lash out, binding him.
"Transmutation Magic, Binding Chains," Dane smirked, passing backward through the last exit from the chamber, which rapidly shrank. "Burn."
He snapped his fingers, and a trail of flames raced forward, slipping through the opening a split second before it sealed. And then, even through the layers upon layers of diamond metal, the explosion made the entire room lurch and tremble, and the explosion was deafening. Dane shook his head, then walked over to where Yami and Asta were standing, the entirety of his diamond metal creations having joined the sphere now encasing Licht and keeping its interior super-heated from the explosion it had successfully contained.
"The interior is superheated," Dane said. "Even if he tries to heal the damage from the spike I got him with and the explosion, the heat alone will cook him."
"Good thinking," Yami nodded.
"Thanks," Dane nodded.
Just then, a massive whip of light suddenly exploded through the diamond metal prison, whipping Dane across the back and sending him exploding into the wall, a deep gash surrounded by a terrible burn decorating his back. Then, the whip lashed out violently, smashing the sphere apart entirely. Then, it began to writhe, flowing back and forth before Licht agitatedly as Licht's healing spell finished restoring his wounds.
"As you can see," Licht spoke up, "this particular spell traces an ever-changing track of whip-like undulations. Can you anticipate these movements? Long ago, when a person had sinned, the punishment was flogging. One possible instrument used was a whip. I find this a very fitting end for the likes of you!" He looked to the side as Raya appeared over Dane, beginning to heal her. He lashed out at her, but Asta appeared in the way, deflecting the strike and making the whip retract.
"That was predictable!" Asta said.
"Indeed," Licht nodded. "Light Creation Magic, Light Whip of Judgement!"
The whip began to lash out rapidly at Yami, but his arm became a blur, deflecting strike after strike. Except, it wasn't striking at only him. Raya was also having to deflect strikes rapidly to defend Asta and Dane, and the whip was exploding into the cavern around them rapidly, beginning to rip it apart. And soon enough, the cavern began to crumble.
"It's crumbling!" Asta warned.
Yami cackled. "This nutball's not holding anything back!"
Then, above them, the roof of the cavern shattered and fell.
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