The beast's corpse was still steaming when the next sound hit—slow, deliberate footsteps echoing from the dark hall beyond the treasury door.
Zura's grip on his sword tightened instantly. 'No… no way.'
Two figures emerged from the frost fog. The first was tall, with half-lidded eyes and a lazy smirk, draped in a tattered cloak. The second was a young man with sharp, cold eyes and crystalline armor growing across his body, each step leaving frost in its wake. Behind them, shadows shifted—more shapes, more killing intent.
Lotus Whomalt, Mars, and their squad members from the Diamond Kingdom.
Zura's stomach sank. So it's happening… no matter what I do. He'd tried—taken different paths, thrown himself into battles that weren't in the original story, even altered who went into this dungeon. But here they were. The exact people who were supposed to be here. The exact scene.
Mimosa whispered, "Who are they…?"
"Enemies," Klaus answered grimly, raising his shield. "Stay close."
Lotus chuckled. "Oya, oya… what a lively little group. And here I thought we'd be collecting treasure, not cleaning up pests."
Mars's eyes locked on Zura, cold and unblinking. "Move aside."
"Not happening," Zura said flatly.
His mind was racing. In the manga, this was where Yuno and the others got ambushed. They'd struggled. Barely made it out alive. But here… Yuno wasn't here. He was. And he didn't know if that meant they'd all die instead.
'Canon events of the manga will happen since… well, they are canon. I can't stop that since the story won't progress without it. But maybe I can change the ending.'
Lotus's grin widened as he twirled his grimoire lazily, a thin haze already seeping through the chamber. "Then let's make this quick, hm?"
"Sekke, don't inhale that smoke!" Zura barked.
"Why?! What's it gonna do?!"
"It's Lotus," Zura said, not taking his eyes off the man. "It's poison, sleep magic, illusions—everything you don't want in your lungs."
Sekke instantly yanked his shirt over his face. "Sekke-sama is already prepared!"
"Barely," Klaus muttered, stepping forward to block Mars's first lunge. The crystal warrior's blade slammed into the shield, the impact shaking the whole chamber.
Zura moved without thinking, circling Mars to test his openings, but the kid fought like a machine—efficient, unblinking, and without hesitation. Every strike carried lethal intent.
"Stay out of his reach!" Zura called, deflecting a blade that sprouted from Mars's arm. "That crystal will shred you!"
"Noted!" Mimosa's vines shot out, wrapping around Mars's legs, but they shattered instantly under a crystal spike that erupted from the ground.
Lotus's smoke rolled in thicker now, forcing Zura to breathe through his scarf. Sekke stumbled near him. "I can't see—"
A crystal blade flashed toward Sekke's neck—Zura slammed into him, knocking them both to the ground as Klaus intercepted another blow.
"This is bad," Klaus hissed.
"Yeah," Zura muttered, getting to his feet, fire licking his sword's edge. 'But if the story wants to play out the same… let's see how much I can break it.'
"Sekke, stick to the smoke—Lotus likes playing with his food, so piss him off. Mimosa, focus only on healing and restraining. Klaus—"
"I know," Klaus said, setting his shield like a wall. "I'll take Mars."
Zura smirked under his scarf. "Good. I'll take the kill."
And then he charged straight into Mars's guard, flame and steel meeting crystal and ice in a brutal, blinding clash.
The air split with the crack of colliding magic. Zura's sword clattered to the frozen floor, sliding away as his hands sparked, smoke curling from his fingertips.
'Enough playing with the sword—time to let loose.'
A sphere of flame burst from his palm, arcing high before splitting into a rain of miniature fireballs that slammed into the Diamond subordinates. Ice spikes erupted in response from Mars, slicing the flames in half mid-air. Zura twisted his wrist, catching the shattered embers in a gust of wind magic, whipping them into a scorching cyclone that roared toward the boss monster still thrashing near the treasure piles.
Lotus drifted in like smoke, his lazy grin hiding sharp intent. His mist swallowed the flames, the air turning thick and suffocating. Zura's mana flared—earth magic surged from the ground, jagged rock spikes tearing through the mist in an explosive burst. The impact shook the chamber, but he kept it controlled, eyes flicking to the walls and pillars. He wouldn't bring the place down. Not this time.
Klaus was firing a precise barrage of steel magic, locking Mars in a defensive stance. Mimosa's vines whipped out, snagging Diamond soldiers and pulling them off balance. Sekke, for once, wasn't cowering—his bronze magic wrapped him like an armored bulldozer, plowing through enemies in wild, reckless arcs.
"Not bad for a bunch of mismatched rookies," Lotus chuckled, slipping between attacks.
Zura didn't bother with a comeback. Lightning exploded from his hands, spearing across the room, forcing Lotus back toward the boss. The creature roared, half-charred, half-frozen, trying to flee in the chaos. Zura didn't let it. A chain of hardened water lashed out from his palm, wrapping the monster's neck and yanking it straight into Klaus's waiting steel barrage.
Mars broke formation, charging Zura directly, crystal blades flashing. Zura met him head-on—stone armor rippled over his skin, blocking the first strike, while a burst of pure kinetic force from his other hand sent Mars staggering back.
The floor trembled under the combined spells, dust raining from the ceiling. Zura's gaze darted upward—this was exactly how it had gone in the manga.
'In the manga, the dungeon collapsed from all the fighting and no one got to claim rights to it. Although everyone managed to get out safely. But I can't let that happen again. This dungeon will belong to the Clover Kingdom.
But what should I do? I don't think I can just defeat Mars and Lotus like this. Honestly, killing them would be easier than apprehending them. Should I kill them? I haven't killed a Black Clover character that got a screen time.
Later in the story, Mars gets his memories back after the effect of brainwashing fades away. He wasn't a bad guy or the villain in the story. Let me just destroy all the artificial crystals embedded in his body and see if he comes back to his senses. If he doesn't… I will kill him.'