The walk back from the grimoire tower felt strangely quiet.
The wind moved gently through the fields surrounding Hage Village while the afternoon sun slowly drifted toward the horizon. A few villagers passed by on the road, offering smiles and congratulations to the new grimoire holders.
Asta, however, was still practically vibrating with excitement.
"That grimoire was insane!" Asta shouted as he walked beside David. "It just flew right out of the top shelf!"
David glanced down at the black book resting in his hand.
The five-leaf clover symbol stared back at him from the cover.
Asta leaned closer, examining it carefully.
"Your clover has an extra leaf," he said. "I thought they only had three."
Yuno glanced at it briefly as they walked.
"Some rare ones have four," Yuno said calmly.
Asta nodded.
"Yeah! The four-leaf clover grimoires are super lucky!"
David didn't respond.
Because he already knew that.
And he knew something else too.
The fifth leaf.
David had read enough about the Black Clover world in his previous life to understand what that symbol meant.
The fifth leaf of the clover…
Was said to house a devil.
His mind replayed the information he remembered.
A four-leaf clover grimoire belonged to someone blessed with incredible luck and talent.
But if that person ever fell into complete despair…
Their grimoire would transform.
The fourth leaf would rot.
And a fifth leaf would grow.
A five-leaf clover grimoire.
A grimoire claimed by devils.
David frowned slightly as he walked.
Something about that didn't make sense.
Because according to what he remembered…
That transformation required a four-leaf user falling into despair.
And he had never even had a grimoire before today.
So how did he get a five-leaf immediately?
Another detail bothered him even more.
From what he remembered, devils were normally the ones who could inhabit five-leaf grimoires.
Which meant one possibility.
A devil.
Inside his grimoire.
David slowly opened the black book as they walked.
The pages fluttered slightly in the breeze.
Blank pages filled most of the grimoire.
But a few pages already contained glowing symbols.
Spells.
He frowned.
If there really was a devil inside the grimoire…
He should feel something.
Another presence.
But the book felt quiet.
Completely silent.
David slowly closed the grimoire again.
"No devil," he muttered quietly.
Asta looked over.
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
David rubbed the back of his neck.
He had another reason to doubt the devil theory.
Even before he received the grimoire…
He had already used his magic.
The glowing Cosmo sphere he created during training with Yuno.
That wasn't a spell.
It was just raw mana control.
Which meant his magic attribute already existed before the grimoire appeared.
The grimoire simply gave him spells.
Not the magic itself.
So if his Cosmo Magic already belonged to him…
Then the power didn't come from a devil in the grimoire.
At least that's what made sense to him.
Still…
The five leaves bothered him.
But after thinking about it for a few minutes, David sighed.
There wasn't enough information to figure it out right now.
So there was only one thing left to do.
Train.
---
Later that evening, David stood alone behind the church.
The sky above Hage Village slowly darkened as the first stars began to appear.
David opened his grimoire again.
This time the pages glowed faintly.
Three pages had symbols etched into them.
Three spells.
He stared at the first one.
The magical symbols slowly translated themselves inside his mind.
Cosmo Magic: Stellar Lance
David raised his hand.
Mana gathered instantly around his palm.
The grimoire page glowed.
A spear of condensed cosmic light formed above his hand.
It shimmered with swirling starlight.
David flicked his wrist.
The spear shot forward at incredible speed.
BOOM.
It pierced straight through a large tree trunk before exploding on the other side.
Wood splintered violently as a small crater formed behind the tree.
David blinked.
"…That's strong."
And fast.
Really fast.
He turned to the second glowing page.
Cosmo Creation Magic: Star Construct
David focused again.
Mana flowed from his body.
This time the energy gathered and hardened in front of him.
A floating star-shaped construct formed in the air.
It looked like a miniature star made of glowing cosmic energy.
David moved his hand.
The construct immediately responded.
It flew through the air like a controlled drone.
He flicked his fingers again.
The star shot forward and slammed into the ground.
BOOM.
Another explosion shook the dirt.
David whistled quietly.
"Not bad."
The spell allowed him to create and control constructs made of condensed Cosmo magic.
That meant he could fight from range or control the battlefield.
Then he looked at the third page.
The symbols glowed slightly brighter.
David read the spell name slowly.
Cosmo Magic: Dimensional Rift
He raised his hand again.
Mana gathered in front of him.
Then—
The air split open.
A small black rift tore through space itself.
David's eyes widened slightly.
"…Oh."
He waved his hand slightly.
The rift moved.
The space around it warped as the tear floated through the air like a blade made of pure dimensional energy.
David swung his arm forward.
The rift shot across the clearing.
It sliced cleanly through three trees before disappearing.
The upper halves of the trees slid off slowly before crashing to the ground.
David stared at the damage.
"…Okay."
Now that was dangerous.
He closed the grimoire slowly.
Three spells.
All of them powerful.
And that was just the beginning.
David looked down at the five-leaf symbol again.
The strange mystery behind it still lingered in the back of his mind.
But right now…
It didn't matter.
His power was real.
His magic was real.
And he had an entire world ahead of him.
David smiled slightly as he looked up at the stars.
"Let's see how far this goes."