A Village Out in the Boonies: Hage
Here we go again...
There, there...
There you are.
Those two finally calmed down.
Are they brothers... or perhaps twins?
No, they're not.
This one is rather calm, but this one...
seems like he has a lot of spunk.
First of all, they don't look a thing alike.
Hm? "Yuno"...
Let's see. And the spunky one over here is—
Hey! You're a bit too spunky...
"Asta," eh?
Right! You two don't need to worry about a thing anymore.
Starting today, this is your new home...
Asta, Yuno.
15 Years Later
Hopefully, we'll have a great harvest this year.
Yeah.
Hup.
Sister Lily!
What the...
Must be that runt from the church again.
I'll become the Wizard King someday and make you happy!
So please marry me!
I'm sorry, Asta, but I'm everyone's sister.
Not yet!
Um... I'm sorry.
I'm not giving up yet!
Er, um... But...
I'm not giving up!
I'm really sorry!
One more time, Sister Lily!
Stop pestering me!
Water Creation Magic: Holy Fist of Love!
I-I'm sorry, Asta.
I used magic from my grimoire without thinking...
Well done, sister.
No mercy whatsoever.
I-I... It just happened..
I'm not done yet!
Sheesh.
How many times does she have to dump you?
Why are you getting in my way too, Yuno?!
Why?
Because you're loud, short,
Loud
Short
obnoxious, and immature.
Obnoxious
Immature
Basically, you're not appealing to women in any way.
Not appealing
Hey! Is that what you say to someone you've grown up with
for the past fifteen years, you handsome jerk?!
Let me give you a hand.
Thanks.
Don't ignore me, damn it!
Asta, Sister Lily is a woman of the cloth, so she can't get married.
Also, you're only fifteen, so you can't get married anyway.
Shut up! Yuno, you jerk... I oughta...
I challenge you to a fight, Yuno!
And I decline.
Why the hell not?!
Because it's a waste of time.
What'd you say?!
Give it a rest, Asta. There's no way you can beat Yuno.
Take this...
My ultimate...
Hold up, Asta.
Attack!
I mean, you can't even use magic.
Nothing came out!
I'm not done yet!
You're funny, Asta!
You have zero sense.
It's hard to believe someone your age can't use magic yet.
The hell's your problem?! How dare you speak to your elders that way?!
Shut up.
Magic is everything in this world.
It's only natural to be able to use magic.
You're the only one I've ever seen who can't use it, Asta.
G-Guess I don't have a choice...
I'll have to show you what I'm really made of...
What you're really made of?
How you like that?! I know you can't do sit-ups this fast!
What's your point, you idiot?
You're funny, Asta!
Yuno's so cool!
That's Yuno for you.
He's such a great help.
Then leave... the wood-chopping...
to me!
I still can't believe you two are the same age.
Yuno is the hope of this church!
I won't be surprised if you end up joining
the Magic Knights who serve the Wizard King, Yuno!
The awarding ceremony is coming up, Asta.
Once you receive your grimoire,
it should trigger something within you, and you should be able to use magic, too.
Sister...
At least, I think so.
I'll get my grimoire soon...
Finally... Finally!
I'll get a grimoire that's more amazing than anyone else's,
get into the Magic Knights, follow in your footsteps,
and become the Wizard King!
There he goes again.
And I'll fix up this shabby, ugly church!
Well, I'm sorry it's so shabby and ugly!
Right, Yuno?
Right?
Just you wait...
Just you wait, damn it!
Asta, wait!
Is he really older than me?
Say, Yuno... Couldn't you be a bit nicer to Asta?
Like you used to be. Remember how you two were always together when you were little?
Yuno used to be such a crybaby,
but ever since the day he brought Asta back with those terrible injuries,
Yuno hasn't cried at all.
I can't be nicer to him.
Come to think of it, Asta has come home covered in mud ever since that day, too.
I wonder what he's doing out there...
994... 995, 996,
997, 998, 999... 1,000!
And now for this moguro leaf juice, which is supposed to be
good for increasing magical powers!
I'm going to become the Wizard King.
That's the one thing I'll never give up on!
But before that, I need to build myself up!
March... When firefly dandelion fluff starts to dance through the air.
Once a year, all around the Clover Kingdom, all of the 15-year-olds are gathered,
Grimoire Tower
and an awarding ceremony is held, where they receive
their own grimoires, which enhance their magical powers.
Wow!
A-Are all of these grimoires?
Which one is mine?
Once I get my grimoire, I'm sure I'll be able to use magic, too.
I'll catch up to Yuno in no time!
Hmph. I guess today's the day I become a full-fledged mage.
Hey, look over there.
Pathetic, isn't it? They shouldn't have to give grimoires to dregs like that.
You said it.
Don't tell me they're
actually planning on taking the Magic Knights' entrance exams, too.
Only nobles born with immense magical power or ties to the royal family ever get in.
Besides, I heard that shrimp can't even use magic!
Wow... Then we need to take good care of him.
He's like a national treasure, since he's probably
the only one in this whole kingdom who can't use magic.
Welcome, young men and women.
You all begin a new journey today.
I wish you all faith, hope, and love.
I am the master of this grimoire tower.
We've never had a Wizard King from this area,
nor anyone who's actually achieved greatness in the Magic Knights.
I sincerely hope that one of you will become the Wizard King someday.
No, really! Seriously!
Ahem.
Now it's time
for the awarding... of the grimoires!
This is my grimoire?
Check it out! Mine's bigger!
Mine's thicker, though.
All right! Now I can leave this town and go to the city.
I'm gonna take over the family business.
This is my grimoire?
Mine's like...
I'll... think about my future more once my grimoire has more pages filled in.
We'll be taking the Magic Knights' entrance exams in six months.
We'll be sure to get in.
Good, good. I look forward to it.
Um...
My grimoire's not coming.
Um...
My grimoire's not coming.
Er...
Try again next year.
What?!
What the heck?!
That's actually amazing!
That's way too funny!
Seriously?
I can't believe it.
If we competed to see who was most pathetic, we'd be no match for that guy.
A four-leaf clover...
A four-leaf? You mean the legendary...
H-Hey...
The one that the first Wizard King received?
The grimoire said to be filled with immense power and good luck?
Him?
That peasant?
Wow!
I'm going to become the Wizard King.
Awesome!
He's the shining star of Hage!
You're amazing, Yuno!
He's so cool.
Yuno...
Just you wait.
I'll catch up to you in no time.
Because I'm your rival!
Did he just say "rival"?
He didn't even get a grimoire. What is he thinking?
Not possible.
All right, kids! We're heading home to prepare for the feast!
You can each have three tatoes today!
Yay!
I sure would like to eat something else once in a while.
What an amazing thing to find in a crummy little town like this.
I thought that once I got my grimoire,
I'd be able to use magic, but...
I never thought I wouldn't even get one.
But... like hell I'm gonna give up!
Don't you dare underestimate me, fate!
I'll show you!
Even if it takes one, two, ten, or a hundred years!
I'll keep working hard until I get my grimoire!
I'll become the Wizard King, and prove to everyone that anyone can be awesome,
even if they're poor or just some orphan!
You jerk!
Just you wait, Yuno!
H-Hey, you don't have to go that far.
We should've been the stars today.
And yet... this peasant receives a four-leaf clover?!
I'll just...
Hey!
I'll just have to turn it into ash!
He held back my flames without even using his grimoire?!
D-Do something!
But...
Do it!
I can't let you go and burn that.
Don't bother to resist.
My Creation Magic: Binding Iron Chain
restricts the magic and movements of the one it captures.
Who are you?
Until recently, I was a pretty well-known Magic Knight called Revchi of Chain Magic.
But I got kicked out, so now I'm just a wretched thief.
And I'll be taking that grimoire.
Revchi, was it? It's pointless for you to steal that.
The only one—
The only one who can use a grimoire is the one it chose.
However, underground collectors are buying grimoires
with four-leaf clovers for insane prices.
A four-leaf clover may have chosen you,
but you only just received it. You're still just a little chick.
How unfortunate for you that I happened to be here.
Your legend is going to end before it even begins.
Hey, that pendant looks like it's worth something, too.
I guess I'll be taking that...
Hold it!
What do you think you're doing?!
I've come to save...
Huh?
Who the hell are you?!
That's Yuno's grimoire!
Why do you have it? You thief!
Aren't you the pathetic little brat who wasn't even given a grimoire?
Oh, you remember me!
Yeah, I'm that pathetic little brat!
A grimoire is precious to the person who received it!
Give it back to Yuno, you jerk!
The outside world is a place where crooked deeds like this can be overlooked.
But you'll be dead before you find that out for yourself.
Asta, run!
I'm not going to run away
from a disgraced loser like him!
I'm not done yet!
No... You're finished.
Dance of the Pitless Viper!
Wh-What a heavy blow...
So this is the power of the mages from outside this town.
I can't possibly beat him with just my physical training.
Thank you for that useless struggle, brat.
Not yet. I'm not finished...
I'm going to be... the Wizard King.
You? The Wizard King?
I have the ability to find out
just how much magical power one has with these chains.
And you have no magic whatsoever.
You must've been born that way. No wonder you couldn't get a grimoire.
To think that you lack even an ounce of magic
in this world where magic is everything.
What a priceless find!
Huh?
What the hell?
Then no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to use magic?
To think that someone so pathetic existed.
You won't even be able to find a job, let alone become the Wizard King!
I'm sure your friend, the great genius over there, mocks you, too.
Yeah, maybe.
Yuno's so amazing that he was chosen by the four-leaf.
I'm just...
You can't do a thing in this world. Just give up on everything.
You were born a loser!
He's right.
No matter how hard I try, some things just can't be helped.
I'm just going to give...
Hey!
Who are you calling a loser?
Asta, it's true that you won't be able to become the Wizard King,
no matter what.
You hear that? Even your little friend is telling you it's impossible.
That's because I'm going to become the Wizard King!
What?
He's no loser.
He's...
Asta's my rival!
Huh?
Him? Your rival?
This brat who has no magical power whatsoever?
Not... Not yet.
Sorry you had to see me looking that pathetic, Yuno.
Just a sec...
I'm gonna kick this guy's butt!
A gri... moire?
I knew it.
There's no way that Asta wouldn't have been chosen!
Your magic?
But you didn't have any magic within you!
What in the world is that grimoire?!
The three leaves of the clover represent faith, hope, and love.
Within a fourth leaf dwells good luck.
Within a fifth leaf...
resides a demon.
Asta and Yuno
Grey words can't make anything happen
I know, yeah I know
Wishing to fly freely across the sky
I dreamed it all my life
Step by step I go, though it's a doubtful world
Don't care how much I fall
Instinct is my guide, I never give up
To faraway future, I burst out running
Go beyond even the unseen fears
The vision I had, so I can be myself
Someday I will write the next page
You are my hope
Like that page from someday
I was able to meet you
I call this a miracle
I'm not going to give up just because I can't use magic!
It doesn't matter if you're a peasant or an orphan! Anyone can shine in this world!
Black Clover, Page 2: "The Boys' Promise."
Page 2 The Boys' Promise
Not giving up is my magic!