(Spoiler warning. This chapter contains spoilers for the more recent chapters of black clover because apparently some of you haven't read the manga.)
Drip. Drip.
Brilliant crimson blood slid down the golden blade of light.
The snow-white cushion atop the Wizard King's grand throne had already been soaked through, dyed a deep and ghastly red.
"So, you chose to use time magic to save the entire nation… just as expected of you."
"But that also means your stored time—and your mana—are completely exhausted now."
"You should have foreseen my attack just moments ago. Yet you couldn't stop your time magic to evade it."
"Because you are—the Wizard King."
Licht's lips curled into a cruel smile as he looked at the Wizard King, impaled by the light sword, his aura rapidly fading. His voice carried an unmistakable thrill.
This was precisely why he had spent so long stockpiling such an immense amount of mana.
To deal with the Wizard King.
As the Wizard King, how could he abandon his people?
Even if he could foresee the future—so what?
Perhaps from the very moment Licht began sealing that mana away, Julius Novachrono's defeat had already been decided.
"This… is your only weakness as the Wizard King."
Licht released his grip on the sword, speaking indifferently.
The Wizard King's body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Not far away—
Yami's pupils shrank, disbelief written all over his face.
Yuuki, meanwhile, remained silent.
His only weakness… huh.
To foresee an enemy's attack and still choose to sacrifice one's own life to protect the people—
That resolve was indeed worthy of admiration.
But the one deserving that admiration was only Julius, the soul being influenced.
The other soul within the Wizard King—the true mastermind, Lucius Zogratis—was likely watching this entire scene with keen interest.
Yuuki lifted his gaze toward the sky.
The enormous, coverless grimoire overhead was already cracking apart, fragments scattering as it rapidly faded away. His eyes flickered slightly—but he made no move.
How could he not know?
Time magic was the power of the Time Devil, Astaroth.
The difference between a human soul and a devil's soul was fundamental.
Replication Magic could not directly copy a devil's power—not yet.
At least, not at the three Clover-tier of Replication Magic.
Even if it were possible now, there was still a lack of a medium.
The reason Replication Magic devoured grimoires was to serve as a conduit—invading the target's soul to reproduce their power.
But Astaroth possessed no grimoire.
There was nothing to invade.
As for the Wizard King's grimoire—
No.
More accurately, Lucius Zogratis's Soul Magic fell into the same category.
The Wizard King's grimoire was never truly coverless.
What he possessed was a Spade Kingdom grimoire.
The reason it did not manifest with a cover was clearly to prevent suspicion within the Clover Kingdom.
That alone made Lucius's intentions obvious.
The Wizard King looked dead—
But he wasn't.
Which was precisely why the grimoire shattering in the sky was nothing more than an illusion.
Yuuki understood it perfectly.
Lucius had accounted for everything—to avoid encountering the Word-Soul Devil who would soon emerge, he staged the Wizard King's "death" down to the smallest detail.
A flawless feigned death and escape.
That was why Yuuki, after only brief consideration, chose not to act.
All he needed was for Julius Novachrono to die in the public eye.
At that moment—
Yami noticed something amid the nearby ruins.
A familiar mask.
The mask belonging to William Vangeance, captain of the Golden Dawn.
Seeing it—
No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, Yami could no longer deny reality.
"What the hell did you do, William?!"
Yami roared, his grip tightening on his katana as black Dark Magic spilled violently from his body.
Licht retrieved the remaining magic stones from the Wizard King's body, then turned toward Yami and Yuuki with a faint smile.
"Yami… and you as well, traitor."
His gaze swept over the two of them, his expression calm and unconcerned.
The Wizard King was dead.
All the magic stones were in his hands.
No one could stop him now.
As for Yuuki—
Licht did not know that Yuuki had already erased the Magic Eye mark from the sacrifice ritual.
In his eyes, once the ritual activated, Yuuki would inevitably die as well.
There was no need to worry about him.
Suddenly—
Black spatial mana rippled into existence in the air nearby.
Half a body emerged from a spatial gate.
"Lord Licht!!"
Valtos shouted.
And then—
He saw Yuuki.
Their gazes met in midair.
Yuuki's expression was calm—almost… meaningful.
Under that gaze, Valtos instinctively looked away, the warning Yuuki had once given him resurfacing in his mind.
Valtos…
The final answer will be revealed very soon.
As the spatial gate stabilized, Licht flashed forward, flying toward Valtos.
"We can no longer reconcile with you, Yami Sukehiro."
Licht's detached voice echoed through the air as he appeared beside the spatial gate.
Seeing this—
"Dark-Cloaked Dimension Slash!"
Yami had no intention of letting Licht escape.
His katana, wrapped in Dark Magic, swung violently toward the gate as he roared:
"Yuuki! Stop him!!"
BOOM!
A space-severing slash of black darkness erupted, cleaving everything in its path cleanly in two.
But—
It was still too late.
Before the slash could reach them, Valtos's Spatial Magic activated, and both he and Licht vanished instantly.
Yami's expression darkened completely.
He whirled around, staring at Yuuki, who still stood quietly where he was.
"Why didn't you act just now?!"
Yami demanded.
He knew Yuuki wielded Spatial Magic.
He could have interfered—could have disrupted their escape.
Yet he hadn't.
Suspicion and vigilance surged in Yami's heart.
"Letting them go is actually the better choice."
Yuuki shrugged, turning to face Yami calmly.
"After something of this scale, I should take my leave as well."
"Oh, and one more thing—consider this a friendly warning."
"From here on out… things are going to get a lot bigger."
With that—
Yuuki turned around and started to walk away.
Yami's eyes turned ice-cold.
"So, you really do know something."
"And don't forget what I told you earlier, you brat."
The moment Yuuki moved—
Yami raised his katana without hesitation.
His figure vanished and reappeared at Yuuki's side in an instant.
(End of Chapter)
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