Black Clover (ブラッククローバー)

It appeared as though humanity would be destroyed by the demon.

But a single mage saved them all.

His name was Lumiere Silvamillion Clover.

He would eventually be called the first Wizard King, and he became a legend.

Heya. I somehow survived.

Though I'm a bit smaller now.

Yami...

I leave the rest to you...

Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, no. You definitely died.

That was definitely leading up to you dying.

That was, like, your end.

Weren't you leaving everything to me or something?

Could you give me back my determination?

Yami, you're being a bit scary.

Sorry I was so useless when the kingdom was in such danger.

I thought my magic would kick in sooner, but...

Magic?

It's probably about thirteen years' worth...

I'd stored time into a certain magic item.

I had to take a bet on whether it'd actually activate or not.

Damn it...

You're such a crazy old man.

But I got to see your face when I thought I never would again.

I guess that's not so bad.

Master Julius...

I... I...

William Vangeance. No matter what the reason may have been,

betraying the kingdom is a grave crime.

Many were hurt,

and it will take time for everyone to recover.

I'm not going to let you sit idle during that time.

Wait, aren't you going kinda easy on him?

After everything he did, you're not gonna punish him at all?

Well, I'm the one who invited William into the Magic Knights

and appointed him as a captain.

I'm responsible for what happened, too...

and for losing against the other soul that was in him,

the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.

William, I'm sure there will be those who resent you

for being a part of all of this.

But I know how much you suffered, too.

Do you have the resolve to withstand that hatred and proceed?

I pledge my grimoire once again to you, and to the kingdom.

This time, for good.

For crying out loud, this guy...

He may have shrunk, but he hasn't changed one bit.

Three Problems

Now, then...

All of you worked very hard.

The battle has ended, and now we can live happily ever after.

Or so I'd like to say,

but currently, we have three problems.

Who is this guy? He called us here out of the blue.

He's just a kid.

What a snotty little brat.

I swear I've sensed this mana somewhere before...

Captain Yami! This ki... Don't tell me he's...

The first problem.

The Wizard King is gone.

He's standing right here.

That's you, remember?

What?!

What?! I knew it!

Most of my magic is now gone.

This is all that's left of my grimoire,

which means I won't be able to fight,

and my influence on the hard-line monarchist nobles who prioritize the wealth

and power of this kingdom has been weakened.

Ooh, me! Me, me, me!

How did you get so small, and why are you alive, Wizard King?!

Mister Energy really doesn't hold back at all.

Well, you see, during my incognito wanderings, I found

magic storage technology left behind by some ancient mages.

According to some documents I found in the castle's library,

it's called Swallowtail.

My time magic and Swallowtail were very compatible.

I stored my time and magic into the emblem on my forehead little by little.

Time that would let me start over in case something happened to me.

But I didn't get to start over immediately, and I only made it as far as this age.

Guess things don't always go as planned.

Uh, this is plenty. You don't usually get do-overs in life.

You're insane, you old man who looks like a kid.

Secré! We did it!

We've finally completed our first prototype!

We're now one step closer

to the peaceful, fair world that you so long to create, Your Highness.

It's all thanks to you, Secré.

You seem to think that your magic isn't useful, but that's not true.

Your Highness...

I came up with a name for this magic item...

But it's still a secret, Secré Swallowtail.

My prince, our magic item has survived all this time

and saved the life of someone who carries on your legacy.

I'm just so glad that you're alive, Wizard King!

Thank you. I see that you're as lively as ever, Asta.

I heard you did a great job yet again.

I did my best! But I've still got a long way to go!

As for Noelle and Mimosa,

I can imagine how much you must have risked your own lives

in this endeavor just by how much your mana has grown.

Yes, sir!

And as for our guest that I don't recognize...

What kind of magic do you use?!

My many years of incognito wandering tell me

you definitely use some unique kind of magic!

Yeah, yeah. Get on with your explanation already.

We need to hurry out there and help the others.

Sorry about that.

I see the Wizard King hasn't changed.

He sure hasn't.

He's definitely the same.

So what's the remaining two of these three problems?

I'm trying to keep those two secret as much as possible.

But I predict that, at this rate,

the Clover Kingdom will be destroyed by the surrounding countries.

You mean...

The Diamond Kingdom and the other ones?!

Or Asta dies.

What?!

Asta?!

Wh-Why, though?!

Wait, why is either the Clover Kingdom going to be destroyed or I just die?!

Or it could even be both.

His predictions are pretty spot-on, too.

Sucks to be you, kid. Namu.

Why are we going forward with me dying?!

What the heck is going on, Wizard King?!

Asta, a devil is the source of your black power.

A d-devil?

Just like that creepy, black guy?

I mean, when I use my black powers, it feels similar, but...

A devil?

So that form Asta takes...

It really was similar to the one Granny told us about when we were kids.

Is your body okay using powers like that?

I'm totally fine! Though my whole body hurts like hell afterward!

I wouldn't call that fine, Asta.

A devil? Wow, talk about creepy. Gross.

Back off, man.

Captain Yami! You don't know how much your words can hurt people sometimes!

Your black horn is proof that humans ventured into a forbidden realm

and involved themselves in a world beyond this one.

It's a curse known as weg.

There appear to be other Magic Knights who have similar curses.

Other than me?

U-Um...

A world beyond ours?

I don't have all the details, but it's said that the devils live there.

And the five-leaf grimoire that one devil failed to obtain

has another devil inhabiting it.

You're...

So your horns are...

Five hundred years ago,

I fell under the curse of forbidden magic in order to seal the devil.

The curse and my magic mingled, and this happened.

I can switch forms as I choose now.

Nero's talking! How adorable!

That's amazing! This seems different from transformation magic!

So you're sealing yourself into the form of that bird!

To think the penalty for forbidden magic would overlap with

unusual magic to produce a result like this.

Ancient magic is truly fascinating!

Uh, so, Wizard King... What's this about m-me dying?!

Is the devil going to explode or something?!

Oh, sorry about that.

First, there are three kingdoms surrounding the Clover Kingdom.

There's Diamond, an aggressor kingdom that has a powerful army

Aggressor Kingdom Diamond

thanks to their magic scholars, and has no problem with experimenting on humans.

Heart is an unseen, neutral kingdom of mystery that takes in and uses

Kingdom of Mystery Heart

its abundant natural mana, perfecting its own unique magic.

And then there's the Spade Kingdom.

Demon Kingdom Spade

A kingdom of winter, mysteries, and demons that is served by the ancient evils

that sleep in its vast, frigid land, and is attempting to gain supremacy.

Like Diamond, our immediate neighbor,

Spade Kingdom

Diamond Kingdom

Clover Kingdom

the Spade Kingdom is attempting to extend its influence across

Heart Kingdom

the strong magic region that separates us.

But currently, the Magic Knights that defend our kingdom

have grown exhausted like never before.

Not only that, but some turned against us,

even if just for a moment, because of the reincarnations.

That currently puts them on shaky ground.

Not to mention what Julius looks like right now.

Wait, wait, wait, wait!

It wasn't any of their faults, though!

They were taken over by elves!