And in the clover's fifth leaf resides...
a devil.
What Asta, who was born without magic,
gained from the five-leaf grimoire was
the power of anti-magic, which nullifies any magic.
Meanwhile, the Dark Triad of the Spade Kingdom
also possessed the powers of the devils from the underworld,
and began invading the other kingdoms.
Asta continued to fight while believing in himself,
along with his friends... to protect this world!
Stirrings of the Strongest
Right around the same time all of you were fighting,
the Golden Dawn's headquarters was attacked.
They've been almost completely annihilated.
I'm glad all of you are safe.
Asta and Yami protected us.
What's Asta's prognosis?
Thankfully, he'll live.
It's just...
I don't know what we can do for his right arm right now.
I have no idea what will come of it.
U-Um... Could you take a look at Gauche, too?
At Gauche?
The wound's healed, and I feel fine.
B-But you should get examined properly!
What do you mean?
Gauche was run through with a giant sword,
a-and I healed him with my magic, but...
You did? But don't you use transformation magic?
All right, I'll have a look.
You really got run through with a giant sword?
Yeah.
I wouldn't even call this healing. His tissues themselves have been rebuilt.
The true nature of your magic might not be transformation.
Then what kind of magic is it?
I hate to say this, but I have no clue.
Grey will have to find that out for herself.
Right...
We'll have Asta continue to rest here.
The rest of you can return to the Black Bulls' hideout.
There's going to be an emergency Magic Knights Squad Captains' meeting in the morning.
The best thing you can do right now is rest.
What? My body won't move.
Where do you think you're going?
Who is that? Is his magic the reason why I can't move?
You should probably head back in.
I have to go save Captain Yami!
That's not going to happen.
The place you're trying to get to
has not only the devil-possessed you didn't stand a chance against,
but two others who are equally as powerful.
Your devil's forsaken you, too.
And you don't know what's going on with your right arm.
How does he—
Going in your condition isn't brave or anything.
It's ignorant and reckless.
Still... I have to go!
While I... While I'm here, Captain Yami is...
Just leave him.
I don't know who the hell you are...
but what the hell do you know about Captain Yami?!
Oh, I know him very well.
Huh?
He's boorish, violent, and vicious.
He's irresponsible, immoral, and insincere.
He's honestly pretty worthless.
I can't win this one without you...
Asta!
You don't know anything! Captain Yami risked his life for us!
But if he lost, he's nothing more than a fool.
Demon-Destroyer!
If you can't even defeat me, there's no way you can save Yami.
That's because...
you're weak.
If only...
I was stronger...
You're such a fool.
But you're a good person.
I like you.
Don't worry. Yami's still alive.
Weg?
Who... are you?
I am the Vice Captain of the Black Bulls, Nacht.
If you so desire, I'll show you how to use the devil's powers.
The Black Bulls? How to use the devil's powers?
Hey, Nacht. Who's the shrimp?
This ki... That's a devil!
Gimodelo, I regret to inform you that you're even shorter than he is.
Oh, come on. You know that this isn't my true form.
He's having a casual conversation with that devil.
You're devil-possessed, too?
I am. This is my devil, Gimodelo.
You really do belong to the Black Bulls.
Wait, you're really the vice captain?!
Yes, though Yami just decided that on his own.
Aw, but I wanna talk—
Captain Yami?
I can't blame you all for not knowing about me.
I've only been in the hideout once.
But why?!
Because I hate Yami.
Huh?!
As annoying as it is, people like him are rather tough.
There's still time before he'll die.
How do you know that?!
Because I've been undercover in the Spade Kingdom for a very long time.
I still don't really know you, or even know if I can trust you...
But...
You're the only one that I can rely on right now!
Please! Show me how to use my devil powers!
Nice and straightforward.
I like people like you.
Th-Thanks!
But for the time being, I can't say that I sense any talent in you.
What?! Y-You say such mean things with a smile on your face!
But I'm sure things will work out if you can figure out how to use your powers.
Then let's get started—
Nope. You need some good rest first.
Huh?!
There's somewhere I'd like to go with you tomorrow, so just rest for tonight.
How the heck am I supposed to sleep in this situation?!
I don't like selfish people.
It looks like you're all here.
Then let's get this emergency captains' meeting started.
That concludes the report from the members of the Black Bulls.
The Tree of Qliphoth, which connects this world to the underworld...
In order to create it, they need Yami and Vangeance.
I can't believe those two were kidnapped.
They probably let their guard down.
And they're Magic Knights Squad Captains. Unbelievable.
Such pathetic men.
No... No! Yami's been...
Is he all right? Is he alive?
I haven't even gotten to tell him that I love him yet!
We did everything we could.
But it wasn't enough.
Even worse, our enemy wasn't even fighting seriously.
Well, isn't that interesting?
I bet you got scared and overestimated him,
Mr. Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn who almost died!
Jack, don't.
Even as we speak, our world may become connected with the underworld.
Then what? The world's finished?
We must act to prevent that from happening.
But there are too many unknowns.
So basically, all we've got are guesses, since we don't know anything.
This is stupid.
Nothing's gonna come out of this meeting.
I'm out.
Stop.
You'd better not be thinking about infiltrating the Spade Kingdom on your own.
What? Why would I go there for that idiot?
Even if I did, it wouldn't concern any of you.
You fool! Of course it would!
You can't be allowed to do something so reckless as a captain!
I want to go save Yami, too!
You guys can sit here picking your noses as long as you want.
I want to kill that fool just as much as you do!
All of you, settle down!
Lord Julius...
Well, I'm glad you all seem motivated, at least.
But... I dislike people who can't even hold a proper meeting.
H-Heya...
Could you quiet down a bit...
Captains?
Asta...
Who are you?
An intruder?!
Oh?
I'm pretty sure I have every right to be at this meeting.
Four devils?! There were others?
Devils? This man is devil-possessed?
Who are you?
He's a vice captain... with the Black Bulls.
Lord Julius?
He's been acting as a spy in the Spade Kingdom,
though I didn't know that he was devil-possessed.
The Vice Captain of the Black Bulls?
A spy in the Spade Kingdom?
I guess anyone could be the vice captain of Yami's squad.
I've seen this asshole before.
Wait, you're... But your magic is...
That man doesn't exist anymore.
We're wasting time, so I'm going to get straight to the point.
Everyone, please sit down.
As you all know, the gate to the underworld is about to open in the Spade Kingdom.
And to make that happen, I'm sure the preparations for
the ritual of the advent of Qliphoth are underway.
Yami and Vangeance will be offered as sacrifices for the core of that ritual.
Captain Yami...
From that point on, over seven days, the advent of Qliphoth will begin.
Seven levels, seven gates, will open one by one.
Ten devils compatible with the Qliphoth are scattered throughout them.
The deeper the level, the stronger the devil.
The upper devils are equal to the Dark Triad.
The devils lower than that are far superior.
And...
If the final devil, Lucifero, appears, this world is done for.
As the catalysts of the advent, Yami and Vangeance will also die.
Conversely, until the gates fully open, they will both live.
He managed to gain this much information on his own?
From the very heart of the enemy's country, the most dangerous area...
Why is the Dark Triad trying to do something so dangerous?
I'm sure we wouldn't be able to understand.
You're all Magic Knights. I'm sure you've seen it more than you'd ever want...
Ones who will hurt others without hesitation to satisfy their desires.
They only care about themselves.
Absolute trash who won't feel a shred of guilt.
I don't want to understand how the ultimate form of that trash thinks,
nor do I care.
Irrational evil... There's nothing that I hate more.
Even if God and the devils forgive them, I never will.
That being said, I can't defeat the Dark Triad.
I'm aware of my own limits. I can only do what's within my abilities.
And that's why...
I'm going to make him our ultimate warrior.
Huh?
Anti-magic has that much potential.
In three days, the gate to the underworld will be opened.
Before that happens, we're going to take back Yami and Vangeance
and destroy the Tree of Qliphoth.
With my magic, we'll be able to infiltrate their castle without being noticed.
We will then attack the Dark Triad and take each of them down.
Dante has gravity and body magic.
Vanica has curse-warding and blood magic.
Zenon has spatial and bone magic.
Zenon?
But my magic won't allow me to take that many people.
We will need to gather forces
that have a chance against the devils, with Asta at our center.
Hell yeah. You'd better believe you're picking from the captains first.
Let me go.
I know I'm being impudent, but please.
Huh? What are you, stupid?
Like we'd send anyone who's already lost to them.
Yuno, I understand how you feel,
but staying behind and protecting the Clover Kingdom is also an important job.
Yuno...
There's actually something I want to ask you.
There is a resistance that fights against the Dark Triad in the Spade Kingdom.
The other day, one of them snuck into the Clover Kingdom.
They're at your hideout right now, aren't they?
What?
Just who are you?
Apparently,
I'm the Prince of the Spade Kingdom.
What?!
The Prince of the Spade Kingdom?!
Yuno, are you s-serious?!
Yeah. When the revolt against the royal family happened,
I was a newborn, and someone apparently escaped with me to the Clover Kingdom.
I see. If he's royalty, then his tremendous amount of mana makes sense.
The man who's with me now served the previous royal family.
He should know a great deal about the enemy and the castle.
That's even more reason not to let you handle this.
That guy could be an enemy spy!
Not to mention, there's even a chance you might a spy.
If I don't save him, there's no point.
It's not just me. Ever since the elf incident,
you've all been suspicious of Captain Vangeance.
And I can't blame you for that,
because he wasn't able to choose between the humans and the elves.
And that's exactly why, even though he's hurting, he's constantly fighting
more earnestly than anyone else as a Magic Knight.
After I lost to that guy, there's something I remember as I was blacking out.
Captain Vangeance was fighting while protecting the members of the Golden Dawn.
You should probably get rid of some of your baggage
so you can concentrate on the fight more,
but you won't.
And that's exactly why you're going to lose.
Of course I won't abandon them.
I made them walk down a path of thorns.
Even so, they rose again without cursing me and forged ahead.
They are my pride and joy! They are my dream!
It's because he fought while protecting us that Captain Vangeance was captured.
Even if he's a traitor who turned his back on this kingdom once to all of you,
to us, he's the kindest and most reliable captain we could ask for!
Yuno...
That guy thinks he annihilated everyone in the Golden Dawn.
But we're still alive... because of Captain Vangeance's magic!
This isn't over yet!
The Golden Dawn is the greatest Magic Knights Squad in the Clover Kingdom!
I'm going to prove that Captain Vangeance did the right thing when he protected us,
and just how powerful we are!
I will be the one who saves Captain Vangeance!
What the hell's up with this mana?
Hey, shut your mouth alr—
Hey, could you shut up already?
I'm storing up mana here
so we can take down that bony bastard!
Yuno's not going to lose again!
Very well. I don't hate people like you.
Who cares if you're the Prince of the Spade Kingdom
or the Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn?
You'll always be Yuno!
Now, we'll be leaving for the Spade Kingdom three days from now,
early in the morning.
I will send you details of our plan later.
This time, we'll be the ones who attack.
I don't have time to cry when Yuno's being this serious.
If I lost because I was weak, that just means I need to get stronger!
No...
I'm going to surpass my limits and become the most powerful!
Let's defeat the Dark Triad and rescue our captains!
Yeah!
Then we should also ask the Heart Kingdom for help.
Actually, I haven't been able to get a hold of them since yesterday.
What?! Did something happen to Charmy and the others?
Each member of the Dark Triad left their castle yesterday.
Vanica might have attacked the Heart Kingdom.
What?
You're...
I can't believe the Vice Captain of the Black Bulls
is someone who can use the devil's powers.
What kind of training are we going to do to make me the best?
Next time on Black Clover, Page 169: "The Devil-Binding Ritual."
Page 169 The Devil-Binding Ritual