"Lord Modi, that thing has not been found yet."
The wizards of the Diamond Kingdom, along with the thieves who betrayed their own country to come to Clover, had turned the manor upside down.
Still, there was no sign of the treasure Medea had spoken of.
"Keep looking!"
Medea's bloodshot eyes burned with rage. His face twisted like a demon crawling out of hell itself.
"Yes, sir!"
The thieves, terrified by Medea's expression, immediately scattered to search again. None of them dared to test his patience.
"How… how is this possible?"
Medea stared at the transparent gem in his hand. It had led him here, but now the treasure was gone.
He had abandoned his homeland for this. Endured for years. Killed Ladin's parents. Mobilized every resource he had.
And now? Nothing. Not even a trace.
"Master Medea, Ladin's parents are both dead. What's the point of keeping him alive?"
Aisha had changed into a maid outfit, swaying her hips as she walked over. She rubbed her hands together, her flirtatious gaze fixed on Medea.
"I've already killed his parents… and now, after all this, I can't even bring myself to kill him."
For a moment, a trace of sorrow flickered on Medea's face. The infamous villain even shed crocodile tears.
"His father was my benefactor."
"Master Modi, you're truly a model of gratitude," Aisha said sweetly.
Her seductive movements made Medea clench his fists. If time wasn't running short, he would have taken her right then.
Bang!
"Tonight," Medea growled, smirking darkly.
Aisha's legs swayed like a snake, her every move dripping with temptation.
"Then I'll make sure everything's ready—Ah!!"
Her words cut off with a scream. A golden lightning spear pierced through her chest, electricity crackling violently across her body.
"L-Ladin…"
Medea's eyes widened, his entire body trembling at the sight. Aisha's body was charred black before collapsing to the ground with a dull thud.
Behind her stood Ladin—no longer the broken boy tied in the basement, but a figure wrapped in crackling blue lightning.
"Butler Modi… how are you?"
Aisha's corpse twitched once before going still. The scent of burnt flesh filled the room.
"You… you couldn't have—did you get the treasure?!"
Medea's face twisted with shock and fury.
"A treasure?" Ladin tilted his head slightly, lightning sparking at his fingertips. "Sort of."
"Damn it! Storm Magic: Wind Knight's Coat!"
Wind magic erupted from Medea's body, wrapping around him like a storm-forged armor. A long sword formed from the raging wind as he lunged at Ladin.
"If you're in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish, Thunder!"
Meanwhile, in an alley in the royal capital…
Zack, the vice captain of the Coral Peacock Squad, had been easily taken down by Zora Ideale.
The red-haired prankster stole Zack's cloak and planned to impersonate him in the Royal Knights Selection Exam.
At the Royal Knights Selection site.
"Noelle, don't be nervous~"
Early that morning, Noelle had rushed into Adam's room. Completely unlike her usual demeanor, the usually proud girl actually dragged him out of bed to go with her.
"I'm not nervous," she said, staring straight at him.
Adam felt his ears heat up under her gaze.
This girl… this strong, confident Noelle—this soft side of hers was way too adorable.
"Noelle, is there something on my face?" Adam shifted uncomfortably.
Normally, he was the one shamelessly staring at her. Now the roles were reversed.
"I have to keep an eye on you."
Though her face remained composed, her heart was racing. She'd seen the ring on his hand this morning… and the one on her right index finger had somehow moved to her ring finger.
Not to mention the long reddish-brown hair on Adam's clothes.
Mereoleona. It had to be Mereoleona.
Noelle's cheeks flushed scarlet. She wasn't even his woman yet. Was she overstepping?
Adam blinked, confused. Was this girl going through the same crazy mood swings as Mereoleona?
"Damn Noelle," Solid whispered from a distance, glaring at his sister with hatred. "You think you can do whatever you want just because he likes you? The Silva family doesn't need trash."
"Welcome everyone! The Royal Knights Selection Exam has officially begun—"
Before Julius could finish, the obnoxious, fat king jumped in with a loud voice.
"Let me explain the rules! It's a team competition!"
"…Boring," Adam muttered.
Honestly, this had nothing to do with him. After last night's chaos with Mereoleona, he'd barely gotten any sleep.
The rules were simple:
Three-person teams would face off, attacking each other's magic crystals. The winning team advanced until a champion was crowned.
Simple. But for Asta, whose brain was already overheating, it sounded like a foreign language.
Meanwhile, Finral was showing off a new hairstyle like it was a blind date event. Neither Magna nor Luck recognized him at first.
"The team list will now be announced."
A white light curtain appeared in front of everyone. Adam scanned through it and found Noelle's name.
"Noelle, you're in luck. That cocky bastard Yuno's on your team."
"Adam, it's not nice to talk bad about people behind their backs," said a calm voice.
Yuno had appeared behind him, arms crossed. Before Adam could reply, Bell, the wind spirit, flew up angrily.
"You rude guy! Don't you dare insult Yuno!"
"This little thing's pretty cute up close," Adam said, pinching Bell's wings.
"Pervet!" Sylph the wind spirit said with disgust.
"Adam, let her go," Yuno sighed. Some things never changed. This idiot had been a pervert since childhood.
"Like branches…"
"Big bad guy! Yuno, look at him!" Bell shouted indignantly.
"Sorry I'm late."
Zora suddenly appeared, wearing Zack's cloak, landing beside Julius with a playful grin. "But our Wizard King doesn't mind people being late, right?"
"No disrespect," he added mockingly.
Klaus hurled a light ball toward him, but Zora casually flipped out of the way.
"This guy's kinda interesting," Adam muttered.
The others, especially Asta, were furious. The Wizard King's number one fan could barely contain his anger.
Adam, however, smirked. A troublemaker with some style? He liked that.
"Next, let's proceed to the examination site."
Julius's subordinate, Cobb, raised his staff, summoning a massive portal—far larger than anything Finral could manage.
"Everyone, please step inside!"
...
Author's Note:
The full completed version of Black Clover: I Awakened the Power of the Twelve Zodiac Talismans is now on Patreon!
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