Abbreviations to know:
(Y/N) = Your First Name
"It's...the captain of the Purple Orcas...Gueldre Poizot"
The captains' faces all turned into shock when they heard this. Their fellow Magic Knight captain had turned against them
"Impossible! What are you talking about? They're terrorists that attacked our beloved nation! You'd actually believe what they are saying? As if I'd ever betray the Clover Kingdom!" Gueldre tried to defend himself, but he already knew he would be caught. Nothing he could say now would get anyone to believe this. The other captains started backing away from him.
"I'd rather not say this, but I've heard a few dark rumors about you." Captain Charlotte began to add on to Gueldre's suspicious behavior.
"It's not just a few. We've heard many." Captain Nozel added. You were about as surprised as Captain Rill was when he showed that he wasn't aware of the rumors. Sure, Captain Gueldre acted a bit different than the rest of the captains, but you never thought he'd go as far as betraying the kingdom.
"Come to think of it, I've heard plenty of rumors like that." Even your captain had heard things about him.
"And apparently, they weren't all false." Captain Charlotte concluded. All of the captains were staring daggers at Gueldre, but he wasn't giving in.
"Don't be ridiculous! Th-This must be some kind of mistake! I know! They're trying to frame me as a traitor!" Now, he was stuttering. He was on the verge of cracking. You wanted to tell him it would be easier to just confess what he did, but you knew he would just argue.
"They're only telling me what they know, it's plain and simple." Marx's memory exchange magic only made people tell information that is 100% true, no doubt. Gueldre backed up a bit, not sure of what to say next.
"Why don't you just let the bowl-cut guy look at your memories. That is if you're really a clean ham." Captain Yami suggested, but Gueldre just looked away. Marx agreed with your captain's suggestion. Everyone pushed forward on him to do it to the point where he was stammering and spitting out random words. It was clear at that point that he was the culprit.
"So it really was you. Because of you, Captain Fuegoleon was..." Asta started to yell at him, but didn't want to finish his sentence.
"Why would you even think of betraying the kingdom? You're a failure of a Magic Knight Captain." You took half a step forward and clenched your fists
"No! This has to be some sort of trap! I'll clear my name! This is a strategic retreat! Transparency Creation Magic: Invisible Great Mage!" Gueldre opened his grimoire, recited his spell, then instantly vanished, mana and all.
"He vanished?!" Asta exclaimed.
"Even his mana disappeared." You said in a softer tone. You heard Captain Charlotte say that all spells will go right through him for a certain amount of time. Again, you heard Gueldre's voice from somewhere in the room. He used a creation spell to make soldiers that were near-invisible to distract you so he could get away. They were more like see-through. You used your binding spell and sent them to an area near you. When they had wrapped around a few of the soldiers, you lifted them up quickly before slamming them back down on the floor, causing them to break.
"Hey, shrimp! Go chase after the ham. We'll take care of things down here." Captain Yami ordered Asta. He nodded and began to run to the door.
"(Y/N)! Come with me!" He turned around and yelled to you.
"Right!" You shouted as you chased after Asta. He could run up the stairs much faster than you, so you decided to fly instead. When he saw you do this, he had an idea.
"(Y/N)! Could you fly the both of us to the top? It'll be way quicker!" You grinned and held your hand out, letting him grab onto your forearm. You took a second to adjust to his weight before flying faster than you first time and trying not to bump into any walls as you flew up the spiral staircase. When you reached the entrance after a short time of flying, you let go of Asta and stopped flying so you could run beside him. He got his sword out of his grimoire and started to run forward. He yelled out before hitting Gueldre with the sword, taking him by surprise. His invisibility cancelled out and he came skidding to a stop.
"You shouldn't have been able to see me! How?! How were you able to attack me?!" Asta didn't answer him. There was no reason for him to know how. Asta instead pushed off the ground to go after Gueldre.
"Don't mock me! I'm a Magic Knights Captain! You magicless peasent! And you, girl! Just because you have a four-leaf clover grimoire, that doesn't make you any more special!" Guldre used the same creation spell to make 3 soldiers. One was made right in front of Asta, so he blocked it just in time, but still got knocked back. You grabbed him by his shirt as he almost flew by you so he wouldn't go any farther, but the soldier went after him again and knocked him back anyways. The other two came after you. You created your sharpshooter and aimed for one of the soldiers lower leg. You shot its leg, causing it to lose it's footing. When it did, you shot its neck, killing it. The other approached your side. With little time to react as it swung its sword at you, you held up your sharpshooter sideways like you were blocking it with a sword. You then kicked the figure in the stomach so it stumbled backwards. That's when Asta came up and slashed it in half.
"You look better when you're groveling on the ground!" Gueldre went to run away, but Asta stopped him with words.
"Not yet! We're not letting you get away! The Magic Knights Captains that we admire so much wouldn't run away over something like this!" He yelled at him, Gueldre rethinking running.
"Very well. If you want to die that badly... I shall grant your wish for you!" Before he could use whatever spell he was going to use, you heard a lighthearted voice come from behind you calling out to Gueldre.
"Hold still for a sec." Captain Rill sent waves of his picture magic at Gueldre, trapping him. The spell looked similar to Noelle's Sea Dragon's Lair. You couldn't see inside the spell, but you could hear Gueldre struggling against something. You and Asta walked up to Captain Rill as he smiled and waved his paintbrush around.
"Picture Magic: Spring of Restriction." Rill revealed the completed stage of the spell, which was Gueldre trapped in a hot spring painting.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Poizot, you're a picture-perfect fellow. I think I'll call this... "The Drowning Captain". What do you think?" Captain Rill examined his new painting.
"What kind of magic is this?!" Asta asked, stunned.
"Captain Rill uses Picture Magic. Basically, he can-" Before you could answer him, a huge explosion came from the entrance behind you. Captain Charlotte, Nozel, Yami, Dorothy, and Jack all stood on chucks on rocks that seemed to be caused by Captain Nozel, since his mercury magic was grabbing some smaller rocks.
"Keke, I lost the chance to let loose on a captain. The guy resembles a ham exactly, so he would've been perfect to slice up." Captain Jack cackled.
"We're Magic Knight Captains. We can't just sit around and space out. We have to at least strike a pose." Captain Yami added. He looked over at Captain Dorothy to see if she would actually be awake now, but of course, she wasn't.
"Running away even though you're a man. How pathetic. Even if you weren't a traitor, you'd still be a failure as a captain." Captain Charlotte insulted Gueldre as her briar branches slowly moved around her, but then she looked back and started slightly blushing. You wondered why that was. You saw Captain William coming up from underground.
"Friends, I believe that's enough. Someone may be controlling him with magic." He said. You thought that if he was being controlled, wouldn't the spell have been nullified if Asta already hit him once? Then wouldn't you notice a change in behavior? You waited to see what the Wizard King would say since he had just arrived as well.
"Wow, I'm glad I said that when everyone was here. I can't tone down my magic, after all." He said, grinning and holding a smaller version of his Chrono Stasis spell. You saw Asta's jaw dropped and his iris's and his pupils had basically disappeared as he saw the result of what the Captains had done.
"Hey! You were amazing earlier! How did you know where Mr. Poizot was? How'd you undo his transparency magic?!" Captain Rill ran up, amazed at Asta's skill. He threw some many questions at him that he didn't even know how to answer him. While Asta was stunned, Captain Rill turned to you.
"And you! You can fly without even opening your grimoire! You must be crazy strong! And the way you fought those soldiers without barely using any magic was so different!" Now you were at a loss of words while Captain Rill's eyes sparkled. He grabbed one of Asta's hands and took yours in his other, excitedly shaking them up and down.
"Well whatever. I'm Rill, and I'm nineteen! What are your names?" His head turned back and forth between you and Asta as he introduced himself.
"I-I'm Asta, and I'm fifteen..." Asta started to sweat a bit as he was so confused by Captain Rill's behaviour.
"And I'm (Y/N), also fifteen. But wait, you're a captain at only nineteen years old?" You introduce yourself and asked the boy. For a captain, he seemed so carefree.
"Hmm, so you're both younger than me! Hey, Asta and (Y/N), be my friend!" You were so confused by the pace this conversation was going that you couldn't help but sweat-drop. You eye twitched a bit as you slowly glanced around.
"Uh... with a captain...? Well, sure! Okay!" You raised your eyebrows at how quickly Asta accepted the offer.
"Well I have no reason to say no." You added. Rill was overjoyed at your answer, and his smile grew wider.
"Yay! Just between you and me, everyone here's way older than me, so it's been rough having to tiptoe around them!" Rill continued to shake you and Asta's hand as he talked on and on.
"I see! And they're all weirdos, too!" Asta took no caution as he spoke.
"Asta... they're gonna kill you if they hear you..." You mumbled to him before feeling a large amount of mana coming up to you from behind.
"Hey, you jerks. I can hear you. Also, you're the weirdos here." Asta's face tensed up as Captain Yami grabbed his head from behind. You didn't even dare to turn around.
"Now then, I have some questions for you, Gueldre." The Wizard King slowly approached the entrapped Gueldre.
Everyone was brought into a separated room that somehow had the ability to float. The Magic Knight Captains managed to get Gueldre out of the ground and into the room. Once you were up in the air, The Wizard King began his questioning.
"Gueldre, everything you've said so far is true?" He asked him after he confessed to everything he had done. Gueldre was under Marx's spell that had him confess everything. The fight he put up earlier was for nothing. You furrowed your eyebrows and clenched your jaw. The list of things he had done was beyond forgivable. He had abused his own squad members, embezzled funds, sold national treasure-class magic items on the market, and smuggled dangerous magic potions from other countries. Captain Yami said he could be a good fit for the Black Bulls because of this, but then he said he'd be better off being a burnt ham. You looked through his memories that were displayed again, and he had even kidnapped the barrier mages, which was how the Diamond Kingdom had gotten in.
Marx mentioned that the barrier mages that had been kidnapped were probably already killed by the Eye of the Midnight Sun. You didn't want to imagine that was the case, but there was a high chance that it was true.
"This is an unparalleled blunder. He was a Magic Knight, charged with protecting our citizens, yet he sold them out instead. In order to keep the citizens from growing uneasy, we won't make this a public matter. But to ensure that this never happens again, check all of your squad members to make sure no one has ties to the enemy." And with that, The Wizard King had concluded the interrogation, and you went off with a salute. Captain Yami was about to say that you were gonna head back to the base, but the Wizard King had asked you to stay behind, and led you to his office.
"I'm sorry for making you three stay behind. It's sad... being betrayed by comrades who fought alongside me. I sprinted at full speed to get where I am, but as a result, I may have made a lot of mistakes." The Wizard King gave started his speech as he stared out the window.
"If that's the reason you had us stay behind, you picked the wrong guys, Julius." Captain Yami told him, seeming un-amused, but Asta was having the time of his life.
"To tell you the truth, when we were interrogating the two Eye of the Midnight Sun members, they told us one more thing. Asta, do you remember the stone tablet back at their hideout when you were taken by them? That thing... They call the stones that were set into it "magic stones." They believe that if they collect all of them, they will be reborn into their true forms which are linked closely to mana, and gain enormous power. Apparently they also went after Fuegoleon because they wanted the magic stone that he had." Your eyed widened along with Asta's at the information you were hearing. You wondered what they meant by "their true forms".
"Reborn, eh? You sure they didn't just read one too many fantasy novels?" You captain questioned, you not sure if he was joking or not.
"We don't know whether that's true or not, but their obsession with it is real. We must not let them get the stones. There are three magic stones left. They know the location of one of them." King Julius continued on.
"Oh yeah? And where's that?" You captain asked him.
"In a strong magic region... The Underwater Temple." You were concerned at the fact that it was in a strong magic region. The only place close to a strong magic region you've been to is the dungeon where you fought Mars.
"What's a strong magic region?" Asta had to ask. You had Captain Yami's faces turned exactly the same.
"This kid really doesn't know anything, does he?" Captain Yami grabbed Asta by the head and lifted him up.
"I'm pretty sure you don't need this head anymore. Perfect. Let me crush you." Captain Yami let Asta struggle as he pleaded for help.
"Stop! I won't say any more! Please spare me! (Y/N), help!" He squirmed around, but this is your captain we're talking about, you couldn't do anything against him.
"I think you'll be all right." You told him, Asta on the verge of tears.
"Strong magic regions are, as the name suggests, regions with strong magic, where all sorts of magical phenomena occur to prevent people from entering. Of all the regions with strong magic, the Underwater Temple is said to be especially dangerous. The dungeon you recently conquered could be considered a beginner's course in comparison." King Julius explained for Asta.
"So you want us to get there before the Eye of the Midnight Sun does and snatch the magic stone or whatever?" Captain Yami asked King Julius as he stared off with his cigarette between his teeth.
"That's right. This is an important mission. The best squad for the job is the one with lots of members who aren't restricted by familial or social status... which means your Black Bulls, Yami. There may still be traitors among the Magic Knights. Will you do it?" Captain Yami thought for a minute.
"You're the Wizard King. If that's what you think, just give the order. As a captain, you're definitely right that I don't have anything holding me back." He took a long puff of his cigarette before lowering it from his mouth and blowing out the smoke. He slowly raised his right hand to signal the Clover Kingdom salute.
"I'm just going to use my power to prove it, that's all. To prove that you've made no mistakes." This was a shock to see, as your captain never really salutes so seriously. You stared at your captain even as King Julius spoke.
"I'm counting on you, Yami. And you, Asta and (Y/N)." You got out of your trance when you were adressed.
"Yes, sir!" You and Asta both exclaimed and saluted at the same time. King Julius took a step forward.
"It's a strange coincidence that you joined Yami's squad. Strong magic regions have strong mana force fields around them that prevent outsiders from getting in. I doubt anyone would be able to get in without your anti-magic. And your experience fighting with the Eye of the Midnight Sun is bound to be very useful. I'm counting on you." As King Julius praised Asta for his skills, Asta's eyes turned sparkly again. He lowered his saluting hand just so he could more forcefully salute again. Although, it resulted in him saluting so hard that he hurt himself, and he ended up rolling around on the ground in pain.
"How hard could he have saluted that he was able to knock himself down?" You said as you watched your hollow-headed boyfriend roll around.
"I can definitely tell that you chose him, considering how interesting he is." Yeah, he's pretty interesting indeed.
King Julius said that he had told you all the he needed to, and that you were dismissed. You thanked him and started to head back to the base.
"You were stiff as a board back there. I guess clowns can get nervous, too." Captain Yami seemed ready to get back so he could take his dump.
"Hey! Who are you calling a clown?!" Asta yelled at him.
"It's just... I've never had someone who I thought was amazing, like the Wizard King, expect anything from me before." Asta rubbed the back of his head as he was all happy to get a compliment from the Wizard King.
"Actually, no one's ever really expected anything from me to begin with." Your face went neutral when Asta said that, but you quickly jumped back when Captain Yami slapped him on the back.
"I let you join the Black Bulls because I thought you could do it. Work your butt off." He told him as Asta recovered.
"Yes, sir!"
{Time Skip-Black Bull's Base}
"All right! The beach! Men bring to mind the beach! The beach brings to mind men! I'm getting all excited for no good reason!" Magna shared his excitement as he slung his arm over Asta's shoulder.
"Yeah! Come to think of it, I've never even seen the ocean before!" Asta added.
"I've seen the beach, but I've never been to it. My mother never allowed me to go." You were annoyed that this was true. You crossed your arms and looked away, but looked back when Asta and Magna rocked back and forth while chanting "Beach!" Everyone shared their plans for what they wanted to do when we got to the beach. When you heard Finral mention swimsuits, Noelle got all flustered and started wiggling around. Charmy just wanted to grill a bunch of seafood. Noelle started murmuring something about a swimsuit.
"If you don't have one, you can borrow one of mine~" A drunken Vanessa held up one of her "bikinis" which was just a couple of strings.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" You pointed and yelled at her. She just shrugged and went back to drinking her wine. Now, Finral and Luck had joined in on the cheering, but it was stopped like it never happened when your Captain slammed his fist into the wall, knocking a huge chunk of it down.
"We're not going to have a grand-old time! We're going for work!" He glared at everyone, who was now sitting in front of him.
"Yes, sir..." Everyone sighed.
"The Underwater Temple, huh? I wonder what it's like..."
~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~
Total word count: 3472
SO, the news just came out today that Asta's Japanese voice actor, Gakuto Kajiwara, will be performing the next ending for the series! It's titled "A Walk" and will premiere on Episode 141 coming this Tuesday.
I forgot to mention this before, but I've been re-watching Black Clover with my dad, and he's really enjoying it. We're a little behind because we only watch the episodes that are out from Toonami, but hey. (His favorite character is Yami)