Royal Capital - Ruins of the Noble District
Day 1 Post-War
The sun was bright. Too bright. It illuminated the utter disaster that was the Clover Capital.
The reconstruction had begun. Magic Knights used Earth Magic to lift rubble, while commoners swept away the dust of what used to be expensive statues.
In the center of it all, Julius Novachrono—now physically thirteen years old—stood before his Captains.
The silence was deafening.
Yami took a long drag of his cigarette. He looked at the kid in the oversized robes. He looked at the teenager's knees knocking together inside the fabric.
"So," Yami exhaled smoke. "You shrunk."
"It appears so," Teen-Julius said, trying to sound authoritative but his voice cracked. "My Time Magic reversed my biological state to save my life. I am technically... weaker now. And shorter."
"Cute," Charlotte Roselei muttered, then slapped her hand over her mouth. "I mean—how unfortunate!"
"Who cares about the height?!" Fuegoleon shouted. "You are alive! That is what matters to the Kingdom!"
"Yes!" Nozel nodded, flipping his hair. "Though, looking down at you is... strangely natural."
"Hey," Saitama walked into the circle. He was holding a shovel. "Someone told me I have to help clean up if I want my parking validation. Is this pile yours?"
Julius turned, his eyes sparkling again. "Saitama! Yes! While the magic knights rebuild, we have a slight problem."
"My check?" Saitama narrowed his eyes.
"No. Politics."
The Magic Parliament - Courthouse
Three hours later.
Saitama sat on a wooden bench in the spectator area. It was boring. Worse than the supermarket line on a Sunday.
Down in the pit, Asta was shackled. Next to him was Nero—who had turned back into a girl named Secre with tired eyes.
"ORDER!"
Damnatio Kira slammed his gavel. He sat high above them, wearing robes that looked way too heavy for summer. His eyes were cold, calculating, and tired of nonsense.
"We are here to judge the source of the recent chaos," Damnatio announced. "The Devils."
The nobles in the stands murmured. Get rid of the peasant. Kill the girl.
"Asta of the Black Bulls," Damnatio leveled a finger. "Your grimorire holds a devil. The girl has forbidden magic. We need a scapegoat for the kingdom's destruction. If it isn't you, the magic knights will lose the public's trust."
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Asta screamed, struggling against the mana-cuffs. "WE SAVED YOU GUYS! MASTER SAITAMA PUNCHED THE BIG DEVIL INTO NEXT TUESDAY!"
"Saitama?" Damnatio pushed his glasses up. "The bald anomaly? He is an unregulated variable. We are debating categorizing him as a magical beast."
Saitama stood up in the stands. "Beast? I'm human. And I have a library card."
"Silence!" Damnatio glared. "Guards, restrain the bald observer."
Two burly mages grabbed Saitama's arms.
Saitama didn't flex. He just scratched his nose. The movement of his arm casually lifted the guard hanging onto him into the air like a ragdoll.
"Whoa, heavy," Saitama noted.
Damnatio frowned. He raised his hand. Scale Magic: Scale Regulate.
A massive set of scales made of magical energy appeared over the courtroom.
"This magic weighs sins," Damnatio explained coldly. "It balances the order of the kingdom. If you tilt the scales toward 'Evil' or 'Chaos,' you will be judged."
He looked at Asta. The scale tipped left immediately. Black devil energy was heavy.
"Guilty," Damnatio declared. "Execution is—"
"Hey, judge-guy."
Saitama hopped over the railing. He landed in the center of the pit, creating a spiderweb crack in the marble floor.
"S-Saitama-sensei!" Asta gasped. "Don't! His magic weakens you!"
Damnatio stood up. "Intruder. You wish to be weighed as well?"
"I wish for you to let the kid go," Saitama pointed at Asta. "He's loud, but he cleans the floors good. And he carries my groceries."
"Groceries..." Damnatio's vein throbbed. "You reduce national security to produce transport? Fool. I will weigh your soul."
The magic scales shifted. They floated above Saitama.
"Your power is unnatural," Damnatio hissed. "Let us see if you are a devil, a monster, or a calamity."
The left side of the scale (Evil/Chaos) glowed red. The magic sought Saitama's sins, his mana, his nature.
The scale descended.
It touched Saitama's invisible "aura."
And then... CREAK.
The sound of twisting metal echoed through the Parliament.
The scale didn't tip.
It sank.
Not the tray. The entire magical construct. The floating energy beams bent downward as if someone had placed a neutron star on the plate.
"What..." Damnatio's eyes widened behind his glasses. "The weight... it's... it's not Evil. It's just..."
"Heavy?" Genos suggested from the balcony. "Master Saitama carries the burden of existential boredom. Also, his bone density is absurd."
CRACK-BOOM.
The magical scales shattered. They didn't just break; they exploded into mana dust. The backlash sent Damnatio flying backward into his chair, knocking his hat askew.
The courtroom shook. The noblemen screamed and ran for the exits.
Saitama stood there, picking his ear.
"Cheap equipment," Saitama said. "You should invest in digital scales."
Damnatio panted, straightening his glasses. His absolute justice... broken by sheer mass?
"You..." Damnatio whispered. "You are outside the law. Outside order."
"Does that mean the kid is free?" Saitama asked, gesturing to Asta.
"No," Damnatio stood up, regaining composure. He was a politician, after all. "But I cannot execute him if I cannot judge you. You are his... handler?"
"Handler?" Saitama frowned. "Like a dog walker?"
"If the Black Bulls agree to monitor the devils... and investigate them abroad..." Damnatio rubbed his temples. "Then I will delay judgment. Get out of my city. Take the noise with you."
Asta cheered. "I'M NOT DEAD! YAY!"
Saitama looked at Genos. "Did I just become a dog walker?"
"A promotion, Master," Genos clapped.
The Black Bulls Base - Ruins
Evening
The base was... mostly rubble.
Henry, the resident transforming-house mage, was slowly putting bricks back together, but it was taking time. The squad sat around a campfire in what used to be the living room (now an open-air patio).
"To surviving!" Yami raised a barrel of beer.
"Cheers!" the squad shouted.
Asta was shoving food into his face alongside Secre, who was eating birdseed in human form (old habits).
Saitama sat on a log, roasting a marshmallow on Genos's finger (Low Heat Mode).
"We have to investigate devils now," Yami said, blowing smoke rings at the stars. "That means the Heart Kingdom or the Spade Kingdom. Cold places."
"Spade..." Yuno (who had dropped by) murmured, leaning against a broken wall. "That's where I'm from. Apparently."
"You're a prince, right?" Asta grinned with food in his teeth. "Can you buy us a new base?"
"No," Yuno said flatly. "But I can buy soap. You smell."
Saitama pulled his perfectly golden marshmallow back.
"Spade Kingdom," Saitama muttered. "Does it snow there?"
"It's a frozen hellscape ruled by three devil-possessed psychos," Yami explained cheerfully.
"Sounds cold. I need a sweater."
Suddenly, the fire flickered.
It didn't go out. The shadows around the fire got longer. Darker.
A man stepped out of Asta's shadow.
Not walked up. He rose from the black silhouette on the ground like a zombie.
He wore a ponytail and a constant, unnerving smile.
"Nacht!" Yami grinned, not surprised at all. "You finally decided to show up? Missed the war, buddy."
"I was busy," Nacht Faust said. His voice was smooth, polite, and absolutely terrifying. "Watching. From the floor."
The Black Bulls jumped up.
"WHO IS THAT?!" Magna screamed, bat ready.
"Vice-Captain," Nacht introduced himself. "Though, I hate most of you. You're messy, loud, and inefficient."
He looked at Asta.
"You," Nacht pointed. "Devil host. You have potential. But you're an idiot."
Then, his eyes—cold, analytical eyes—slid to the two strangers.
He looked at Genos.
"A doll made of iron and witch blood," Nacht observed. "Useful."
He looked at Saitama.
Nacht's smile didn't falter, but his shadows recoiled. The four mini-devils on his shoulder (Gimodelo and friends) hid behind his neck.
"And you," Nacht walked closer to Saitama. "The man who Shushed a supreme devil."
Saitama looked up from his marshmallow. "You walked on my shadow. That's bad luck."
"I love evil," Nacht said softly. "I understand it. I can manipulate it. But you..."
Nacht leaned in.
"You aren't evil. You aren't good. You're just... there. A blank space on the canvas."
"I'm a hero," Saitama corrected. "For fun."
Nacht chuckled. "Fun. That is a dangerous motivation. The Dark Triad in the Spade Kingdom... they also do things for 'fun'. You might find you have more in common with them than you think."
"Do they like coupons?"
Nacht paused. "No."
"Then we have nothing in common."
Saitama popped the marshmallow in his mouth.
"Genos," Saitama chewed. "This creepy guy appeared from the floor. Is the floor clean?"
Genos scanned the dirt. "Negative. Soil composition: 40% ash, 10% demon residue. Extremely unsanitary."
"See?" Saitama told Nacht. "You're dirty. Wipe your feet."
Nacht stared for a second. Then he laughed. It was a genuine, creepy laugh.
"I see why Yami kept you. Very well. I will teach the boy..." he pointed at Asta. "...how to use his devil. And you two... can be the bait."
"Bait?" Genos bristled. "I am an S-Class Hero, not bait!"
"You're shiny," Nacht shrugged. "Monsters like shiny things."
Yami slapped his knee. "Alright! It's settled! Nacht trains the kid. We go to the Heart Kingdom for info. Then we invade Spade and kick some Triad ass!"
"Training again?" Saitama groaned. "Can I just do the pushups?"
"No," Nacht smiled. "For this enemy... you might need to actually punch hard."
Saitama's eyes narrowed slightly.
"We'll see."
The Cliffhanger: Across the Border
The Spade Kingdom - Throne Room
It was cold. Ice covered the windows.
Dante Zogratis sat on his throne. He held a wine glass.
"Zagred fell," Dante mused. "Interesting. The data says he was destroyed by a 'Sonic Event'."
"It wasn't a spell," Vanica Zogratis giggled, swinging her legs on the armrest. She had an eyepatch on (from a previous skirmish). "Spies say it was a bald guy! He went SHHHHH! And boom! Zagred gone!"
Zenon Zogratis, the third sibling, stood silently by the window. His bone magic hummed.
"Bald," Zenon stated.
"I want him!" Vanica licked her lips. "I want to fight him! Megicula says he has no mana! How fun! Can I break him? Can I?"
Dante swirled his wine. A mark on his forehead glowed—Lucifero's mark. (Wait, didn't Lucifero get punched? Yes. The Connection is... fuzzy. Like static on a radio).
"My devil... Lucifero... is quiet," Dante whispered. "He is afraid. For the first time."
Dante stood up. Gravity warped around him.
"This 'Saitama'... he threatens the Advent of Qliphoth. He threatens our fun."
Dante smiled. It was the smile of a man who had never lost.
"Let us welcome him. With despair."