The Clover Kingdom.
In this kingdom where magic is everything,
there is one boy who can't use magic.
His name is Asta.
He puts in blood, sweat, and tears in hopes of becoming the Wizard King.
But there are also those in the kingdom who possess at least a little bit of mana,
yet can barely use any magic at all.
The very few out of the population, those who live in the shadows...
They are also trying to survive.
The group led by Dazu Tayak and Bow Nocde
were not actually those who wished for the devil's demise, the Devil Banishers,
but those who worshiped the devil, the Devil Believers.
After revealing themselves, the Devil Believers
murdered Kabwe and the others from the Magic Parliament that they were manipulating,
then disappeared, taking Asta's grimoire and Nero with them.
So basically, they want to hand Nero off as a gift.
Oh, yeah. They have the kid's grimoire, too.
And then they want to join the Spade Kingdom... or rather, join with the devil.
Yami, I'm counting on you.
Asta and the other Black Bulls began their pursuit of the Devil Believers.
It's gonna be difficult to catch up to them if they managed to
get through Breed Mountain in this weather.
Hey, what's that?
And they were finally able to catch up to them, but...
H-How are there so many of them?!
Prepared to Die
Isn't it beautiful?
Huh?
The sunset.
Yes... I didn't even notice it.
It sets instantly, but still manages to shine so brilliantly for that moment.
Doesn't it make your heart feel at peace?
Yes.
Um, you're Bow, aren't you?
Bow Nocde, who lives in the forest on the outskirts of town.
You've heard of me?
Um, my husband's mother mentioned you before.
Did she tell you to steer clear of the weird lady there
who uses strange medicines?
No, not at all.
Are you going to use that in one of your medicines?
Yes.
Wow, that's amazing.
Amazing?
Well, most people in this kingdom can do everything with magic.
Where did you learn how to make medicine like that?
Nowhere, really.
Huh?
I figured out the ingredients, mixed them,
failed many times, and just kept trying again.
All on your own?
This is about all I can do, since I can barely use any magic.
Well, if you'll excuse me.
U-Um, I'm Dazu!
Dazu Tayak!
Um, do you mind if I visit you sometime?
Sure. I would love to see you, Dazu.
I'll brew some bitter medicine for you.
Your bombs are always impressive.
Now we can move forward.
Let us hurry. It will be dark soon.
We need to get through Breed Mountain and past the border as fast as possible.
Once we do, we'll be out of the Clover Kingdom's jurisdiction.
Then even the Magic Knights won't be able to capture us.
And we'll go to the Spade Kingdom.
Impossible.
Even if you get past the border,
there's a strong magic region that lies before the Spade Kingdom.
The Spade Kingdom is a country filled with snow and mysteries.
Between it and the Clover Kingdom is a neutral zone belonging to no nation,
most of which is a strong magic region.
Strong magic regions are designated areas that possess a powerful force field of mana,
which causes various magical phenomena that seem to prevent anyone from entering.
Extreme natural conditions, swirling mana, and treacherous mountains...
Getting through a strong magic region is perilous even for Magic Knights.
Meaning all of you who lack mana...
Yes.
You are correct.
Do you plan to die?
Die? Yes, we might die.
But if we have any chance of getting there...
Let's go.
Yes.
Mister Yami, can you hear me? It's me, Magna! You there?!
We found the Devil Believers, but there are a whole lot of them!
We're awaiting your orders!
Mister Yami! Mister Yami!
The mana in this area is pretty messy, too.
The strong magic region beyond the border might be
disrupting communication here, too.
Asta, Lady Noe, I'm gonna go somewhere I can get some reception
and ask Mister Yami for instructions.
You guys stand by here.
I'll be back with reinforcements soon. Don't move from here!
Let's haul ass, Crazy Cyclone!
Uh, hey, wait! Jeez...
Wait here? It's cold! We'll get soaked and end up sick!
Though you're probably too stupid to ever get sick, Stupidsta.
Hang on a second!
He just told us to stay put!
Well, I'm worried about Nero!
I want to save Nero as soon as possible, too.
But how?
Do we just try to scatter the enemy?
No!
Then what?
I'm gonna go talk to them again.
We should be able to understand each other.
If we could talk this over, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first—
Nero...
Ugh, you're hopeless. You know that?
Come on.
I'll let you hold on.
You'd better be grateful.
Thanks, Noelle!
H-Hmph! You owe me one!
Hey, are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Here, grab on.
Thanks.
I can't stop shaking.
It's even colder now that the sun's going down.
But let's do our best.
Thinking back on everything I've been through, this is nothing!
Thinking back on everything I've been through, this is nothing...
Exactly.
It's beautiful.
It's just like back then.
It's a full moon.
The mana in the strong magic region may weaken a little.
The chance of that might be low, but there's still a chance.
And because of chance,
I was able to meet you, Bow, and live until today.
I made it through so many trials and hardships because of you.
I'm eternally grateful.
So am I. And we finally made it this far.
But we still have a long journey ahead.
Let's continue working together.
Just the two of us.
Hey, what's that?
Could it be...
Is it...
Asta!
We finally caught up to you guys!
Nero, where are you?!
These people...
Stupidsta, you probably haven't noticed,
but I can barely sense any mana from these people.
Huh?
Just like the boy from that village.
He had small, fleeting mana.
There are that many people in this kingdom who can hardly use magic?
No, that's not it.
This is just some of them.
Found her.
Nero! We're here to get you!
Wait, Stupidsta, be careful!
I'll be fine! With the wind this strong,
sleep potions or any other potions will just blow away!
Yeah, but...
Should we really attack these people
when we're supposed to be protecting them as Magic Knights?
But right now, I have to protect Asta!
What?
Master Asta! Master Asta! Master Asta! Master Asta!
Yes, the one bestowed with the devil's powers!
The Devil Believers...
Those who worship the devil.
Master Asta! Master Asta! Master Asta!
You're their leader, Dazu Tayak, right?
Asta...
And Bow Nocde.
Let Nero go. Nero's a very important friend of ours.
Asta...
You're taking Nero and my grimoire as gifts to join the Spade Kingdom, right?
And if you could, you'd probably want to take me.
I see you've figured out our plan.
Then you should know...
...that we can't return Nero to you.
Once you get beyond these mountains, we'll be on neutral ground.
There's a strong magic region there, but tonight's a full moon,
so the mana will be weakened.
You're probably trying to get through the strong magic region now.
But with your numbers and equipment, that's impossible!
We know that.
But still, I... we are going to go.
I barely have any mana.
I can't really use magic.
Magic is everything here in the Clover Kingdom, so I basically didn't exist.
Even my own parents looked down on me. I was laughed at in school.
My teachers mocked me.
I couldn't make friends, and everyone in town always gave me judgmental looks.
Asta, I'm sure you understand.
Yeah.
That's why I worked much harder than the average person.
And yet I was mocked and looked down upon just because I couldn't use much magic.
But... your husband still accepted you, didn't he?!
Accepted me?
Granny Maggie from Tiulyu said that
your mother-in-law was really happy about her son's wonderful wife.
Doesn't that prove that your husband and mother-in-law both accepted you?
You must've been happy even if you couldn't use magic!
I wasn't happy at all!
I knew the truth...
But maybe they could've...
No, they're all the same.
Every day with those people
was hell for me.
They would always smile kindly, tell me my cooking was delicious,
and praise my hard work.
Then...
I'm sure our neighbors also thought of my husband and mother-in-law
as kind, charitable people.
But they mocked me.
They looked down on me.
They didn't accept me at all.
They were just using me!
They enjoyed making fun of me.
They were relieved that there was someone lower than themselves!
They were trash!
They deserved to die!
Dazu...
I'm sorry. I just...
Though our situations are different, everyone here led lives similar to ours.
All of you?
I can make many medicines and potions that work far better
than the magic of an average recovery mage.
But they didn't accept me, solely because I couldn't use magic much.
There were a few people who relied on me every now and then,
but once they had what they wanted, they were done with me.
The same goes for me!
While those fools were out playing, I spent sleepless nights studying.
You have no idea how hard I worked to survive!
Me, too!
M-Me, too!
We all did!
They mocked us just because we couldn't use magic well!
They acted like we didn't exist!
I'm done with that!
We're leaving this stupid kingdom!
Look at these people.
We met them on our way to the Spade Kingdom.
They experienced the same hardships we did.
They lived in the shadows. I'd never imagined so many of us existed.
To think that so many sympathized with us and wanted to help us...
Asta.
Telling us to go back is telling us to go back to a life of mockery!
We've had enough!
You understand, don't you?
Yeah, I do.
Asta...
And it's because I understand that I have to stop you guys!
Why do you all want to go to the Spade Kingdom so badly?
To gain the powers of the devil.
But that's...
Kabwe from the Magic Parliament told us that there was a devil in the Spade Kingdom,
and that the devil would give us powers.
I... We want power.
After joining the Spade Kingdom and gaining the devil's powers,
we will come back to this kingdom someday...
...and have our revenge.
No... But that's—
The three leaves of the clover represent faith, hope, and love.
Within a fourth leaf dwells good luck.
Within a fifth leaf resides a devil.
That's how the saying goes, isn't it?
Yeah.
Even though you had no mana and couldn't use any magic,
you gained the devil's powers because of this grimoire.
You joined the Magic Knights and accomplished many things.
We look up to you so much.
You look up to me? But I don't...
We want to be like you.
We're going to the Spade Kingdom.
We'll gain the devil's powers...
...and be reborn!
Then we'll get revenge on this kingdom!
That is our desire.
But I'm different!
Different?
That's right! No matter how hard I worked and trained,
I was mocked for not being able to use magic.
They looked down on me my whole life.
But I never despised any of them!
Yeah, I gained that grimoire and the devil's powers,
but I never once thought about using those powers to take revenge on this kingdom!
I worked for this kingdom!
No matter how poor you are... even if you're an orphan or a peasant...
I just wanted everyone to be happy!
I can't imagine how much better off we would've been
if we could actually think like that.
Indeed.
We cannot extinguish the blazing flames of revenge that burn within our hearts.
So we can't return Nero to you!
We will continue on to the Spade Kingdom.
All right. Then let Nero go!
I just told you we can't...
I'll take her place!
What are you...
Your original plan was to take me, wasn't it? Right?
My grimoire and I should be more than enough for gifts!
We'll have to restrain you.
Sure!
And her, too.
Now, keep your promise. Let Nero go.
All right, we will.
After we take you to the Spade Kingdom.
You're too naïve.
No, I have faith in them.
We want to obtain the devil's powers no matter what.
The more gifts we have, the better.
Asta and his grimoire... The girl who used forbidden magic, Nero...
And now we have a royal girl.
What wonderful gifts.
If we make it through the strong magic region, that is.
Correct.
Now, let us proceed.
That's the border.
We're almost to...
...the border.
The strong magic region...
I can feel it from here. There's so much mana that's out of control.
How do you intend to get through that?
We can barely use magic. We barely have any mana.
But that also means we do have a little bit of mana.
Even if we don't have much magic,
if I can pull all of our magic together with my catalyst magic,
we can make it powerful.
Just as a droplet of water can become a powerful current.
We'll use her catalyst magic to pull all of our mana together
and use that to protect ourselves from the strong magic region's mana.
But that's—
Indeed. It won't be easy.
The Spade Kingdom is far away.
Who knows if your mana will hold out until we get there?
No, it's impossible.
But at least one of us might make it there.
And that one person might attain the devil's powers.
Then maybe... No, we must see this through.
Or our revenge upon the Clover Kingdom will never happen.
No...
Let's go.
Yes.
That's—
Asta, Lady Noe, Nero! Sorry to keep you guys waiting!
Magna! Captain Yami!
We are the Magic Knights.
We protect this kingdom and its people.
That is our duty!
Next time on Black Clover, Page 148:
Page 148 Becoming the Light That Shines Through the Darkness
"Becoming the Light That Shines Through the Darkness."
The ones in the shadows are the ones we should be protecting the most!