“Listen up, you bastards!” Captain Yami declared, striding back into the common room after returning from the Royal Capital.
“Your actions in Saussy Village earned the Wizard King’s approval, and he’s bestowed upon us 3 stars!”
Yami happily held up three golden five-pointed stars.
“And that’s not the only good news—today is payday!”
“LONG LIVE COMMANDER YAMI!” Magna yelled, practically kneeling on the spot.
The rest of the squad instantly abandoned whatever they were doing and crowded around Yami with absolute excitement.
Charmy zipped over using her short legs to grab Yami’s trousers to claim her pay first, Finral drooled with envy as he planned his upcoming dates, Gauche immediately sought advice on buying new clothes for his sister Marie, and Luck charged in with lightning, demanding to fight Yami for his pay.
Everyone was thrilled—except for Noelle.
She looked at her coin pouch with a completely expressionless face, muttering under her breath that it was nothing more than loose change and chump change for a royal.
“Taking proper rest is also a form of training,” Asta noted calmly as he pocketed his pay, planning to send the rest back to the church in Hage Village.
The next morning, Vanessa took Asta and Noelle on her travel broom to the town market for some shopping.
Along the way, they spotted their eccentric squadmates causing their usual scenes—Gauche with a nosebleed holding arms full of clothes, Charmy raiding food stalls, and Finral getting rejected while flirting on the street.
Passing through the crowded thoroughfares, Vanessa led Asta and Noelle toward the entrance of the Capital’s hidden black market.
Standing before a dilapidated, dead-end brick wall, Vanessa prepared to reveal the entrance to her junior squadmates.
Seeing the hidden black market brought a fleeting memory back to Asta’s mind—recalling what Captain Yami had mentioned about his secret meeting in the Royal Capital just the day before.
Flashback: Yesterday at the Royal Capital…
Yami walked through the ornate hallways of the Magic Knights Headquarters.
On his way to the Wizard King’s office, he passed Marx, who was holding a heavy stack of reports.
“Yami-san, Wizard King-sama is expecting you,” Marx informed him briskly, carrying the papers past.
Yami said nothing, simply nodding in acknowledgement before continuing down the corridor.
Reaching the doors, Yami pushed them open to find Julius Novachrono sitting at his desk, diligently working through mountains of paperwork.
Julius looked up and smiled warm-heartedly.
“You came, Yami.”
Yami nodded, giving a lazy salute before cutting straight to the point.
“What happened with the bandit leader?
Don’t tell me you got careless.”
“No, I didn’t get careless,” Julius replied, his smile fading into a faint sigh.
“The culprit got away.”
Hearing this, Yami’s brow furrowed tightly as his face grew dead serious.
“Got away from you?
How?”
“There were two spatial portals open around my senses,” Julius explained gravely.
“One was for Marx on his way back, and the other was for the leader.
From Marx’s portal, a barrage of Light Magic suddenly targeted him.
I destroyed it and sent my time magic back through the portal—I hit him, and I’m 90% sure he survived.
But from the second portal, a woman wielding Fire Magic burned the prisoner to a crisp before retreating back inside.
I could have entered the portal after her, but…”
“No, you did the right thing by not entering that portal,” Yami interrupted softly, taking a drag from his cigarette.
“I doubt normal mages would do much against you, but there are still two types of enemies that will take you down if you get careless.”
Julius nodded in agreement.
“Yeah…
that was my concern as well.
I didn’t sense any devil magic from either of them, but from both the Light and Fire magic users, I sensed traces of forbidden magic.”
After discussing the situation in Saussy Village, Julius handed over 3 stars to the Black Bulls for their successful intervention.
Before Yami turned to leave, he glanced back over his shoulder.
“Who do you think is behind this?” Yami asked sharply.
“Without someone on the inside, no one would be able to pull off something like that.”
Julius looked up from his desk and turned the question back to him.
“Who do you think is behind this?”
Yami frowned deeply.
“It’s definitely the King.”
Julius let out a long, weary sigh.
“You know, when I took you and Vangeance under my wing, I hoped you two would push each other for the Wizard King position.
But looking at things now, you’re not just falling behind—you’re way off the mark.
Well…
at least your strength isn’t lagging behind.
And no, it’s not the King.
He’s far too stupid to pull off something like this.”
Julius leaned forward, his tone dropping.
“Moving on to the real topic…
there is one Captain I’m suspicious of.
He’s currently under my radar.”
Yami’s eyes narrowed through the smoke.
“You think there’s another Captain involved in this?”
“Yes,” Julius confirmed cleanly.
“What do you want me to do about it?” Yami asked.
“The only people I can truly trust with this are you and Vangeance,” Julius stated.
“However, Vangeance’s every move is constantly watched by nobles, royals, and even commoners.”
“I get it,” Yami grunted, exhaling a cloud of gray smoke.
“Don’t expect much from me—I’m no mystery solver or detective.
But I’ll do what I can.”
“That’s all I ask of you,” Julius replied with a quiet smile.
Present day…
Snapping back from the memory, Asta looked up at the rundown wall of the Capital’s black market.
“There’s no road here,” Noelle remarked, staring at the solid brick barrier in confusion.
Vanessa smirked, raising her hand toward the wall as a faint glow of spatial magic began to hum in the air.
“As Magic Knights, knowing where to find off-market resources is essential…
Welcome to the real underbelly of the Capital.”
“The person who developed this market is quite creative to have transformed the entrance into a wall.”
Asta’s face showed an expectant expression.
Although he couldn’t see through every complex layer of the barrier, he could faintly sense the residual magic trace left across the brickwork—a spatial-transfer spell.
“You actually noticed that?” Vanessa looked at him in genuine surprise.
She hadn’t expected that someone with zero magic power like Asta would have such sharp perception, discovering the black market’s secret on his very first visit.
“The entrance is behind the wall?” Noelle murmured, slightly hesitant.
Seeing Asta and Vanessa walk straight through, she quickly followed.
Approaching the barrier, she braced herself, worried she would bump her head, but as her body touched the surface, a soft suction pulled her through.
“How amazing…
though it’s a bit dirty,” Noelle frowned slightly, dusting off her sleeves as she looked around the dimly lit, crowded alleyways of the black market.
“Your royal family certainly doesn’t come down here,” Vanessa smiled, taking Noelle’s hand to guide her through the stalls selling off-market magical gear and catalysts, while Asta wandered off toward a nearby display to browse for wands.
Suddenly, a gray-robed thief darted out from a side alley, a stolen pouch clutched tightly in his hands.
“Quick!
Stop him!
That thief stole my spoils!” an elderly woman called out anxiously from behind, her steps unsteady.
“Running blind in the dark…
you actually picked my direction?” Asta turned casually.
As the thief sprinted past, Asta grabbed his shoulder and brought him down with a swift, flawless over-the-shoulder throw.
Thud!
“Thank you so much, young man!
Thank you for retrieving my package!” The old woman shuffled over, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Be more careful next time, old lady,” Asta said, bending down to hand the package back.
The moment his fingers made contact with hers as he passed the bag, Asta’s entire body went deathly cold.
Every biological alarm in his nervous system screamed at him in total, unadulterated panic: RUN!
His raw shinobi instinct urged him to turn around and flee the entire district as fast as his feet could take him.
In that single touch, he felt a fraction of the overwhelming, god-like mana radiating from this seemingly frail old woman.
Forcing his breathing under control and forcibly suppressing the urge to bolt, Asta maintained a stiff, polite posture as he handed over the pouch.
“Uh…
it’s nothing,” Asta said, forcing a calm smile onto his face.
“I’m just amazed at your luck, old lady—to manage to hold onto so many treasures.”
Without waiting another second, Asta turned on his heel, walked over to Noelle and Vanessa, and handed Noelle a refined wand he had swiftly bought moments earlier.
Before anyone could ask questions, Asta spoke with an unusual, unyielding firmness: “We’re going back.
Now.”
“Eh?
Already?” Vanessa blinked, surprised by his sudden rush, but seeing the sharp look in Asta’s eyes, both she and Noelle mounted the travel broom and took off into the sky toward headquarters.
As they flew back, Asta sat quietly on the broom, his hand resting on his knee as cold sweat dried against his skin.
What the hell was that…?
Asta thought, his mind racing wildly.
Even in my prime as Rock Lee, I couldn’t do a damn thing against a monster like that!
That person…
thing…
whatever it was, it gave me the exact same suffocating feeling as Madara in his Six Paths state!
He gritted his teeth, staring into the clouds.
Spending decades living and dying in the Shinobi world made me forget so much about my past life…
I don’t even remember half of Black Clover anymore.
Was there seriously a character in this world who was that absurdly strong?!
Meanwhile, back in the alleyway of the black market, the frail old woman watched the broom fade into the distance, her eyes sparkling with absolute fascination.
Flashes of golden light flickered around her figure.
In an instant, the frail old woman transformed into a tall, broad-shouldered man—Julius Novachrono, the Wizard King.
“Wow…” Julius murmured, a beaming, boyish grin spreading across his face as his eyes sparkled with sheer delight.
“What great instinct!
He knew instantly how dangerous I was and pulled his squad out right away.
What a good kid indeed!”
All of a sudden, a loud, panicked roar shattered his concentration as a green-haired man manifested beside him through a spatial aperture.
“WHAT?!
YOU SNUCK OUT AGAIN?!” Marx yelled through the magic spell, veins popping on his forehead.
“LISTEN TO ME!
THERE ARE STILL MOUNTAINS OF PAPERWORK WAITING FOR YOU BACK AT HEADQUARTERS, WIZARD KING-SAMA!”
“That’s settled then, Marx!
I’m off to encounter new magic!” Julius laughed cheerfully.
In a flash of golden light, his figure scattered into specks of mana and vanished into thin air.
“STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU BASTARD!” Marx’s furious roar echoed through the alley, but the Wizard King was already gone.
High above the Capital’s outskirts, Asta, Vanessa, and Noelle flew past a Golden Dawn detachment escorting a noble carriage on a mission toward the border.
After a brief discussion about Yuno’s growth, Asta reassured his squad that Yuno would handle his own battles, and the trio returned straight to the Black Bulls hideout.
Upon stepping through the door, Captain Yami was sitting on the couch with a cigarette dangling from his lips, glancing up at the three rookies.
“You bastards have fun today?
Did you waste all your money?” Yami grunted, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
“We used every single copper wisely, Captain,” Asta replied smoothly, pushing his earlier shock deep into the back of his mind.
Yami shot a glance at the new wand cradled in Noelle’s arms, then turned his gaze back to her.
“And what about you, little princess?”