Zura hadn't slept a damn second the whole night. After busting more than a dozen rounds like some kind of cursed stallion, exhaustion finally smacked him in the face. Mid-air. On a pigeon. While clinging onto Noelle like a koala.
That was his first night in the world of Black Clover.
No guide. No tutorial. Just him, thrown into chaos, sex, and magic.
Thirty minutes later, the pigeon swooped low, wings flapping heavy against the ocean breeze. Noelle gently hopped off, then turned the pigeon's wing into a makeshift staircase.
She took her time. Unhooked Zura's limp arms from around her waist like she was defusing a bomb.
He was knocked the hell out.
With a little effort, she placed him down on the sand—cold, damp, and glowing under the early sun. Then just… stared at him.
Why the hell was she staring?
Even she didn't know.
Her cheeks got warm. She shook her head fast.
"Stupid."
She leaned in, grabbed his shoulder, and shook him. "Zura. Wake up."
Nothing.
She tried again. Still no response.
"Ugh…"
This was the same guy Lucy probably slapped every morning to wake up. That made sense now.
She stood up and looked at the ocean.
They were in Raque.
A peaceful beach town in the Noble Realm, where families usually came to swim, relax, or show off their rich-kid swimsuits. But Noelle had brought Zura here for something else—his birthday.
She had planned it out. A quiet morning, a simple surprise, maybe even a gift. Something normal.
But nope.
Suddenly, the sea started boiling. Not literally, but close.
The surface churned.
Something surged up.
Multiple somethings.
Long fins. Sharp teeth. Water magic swirling unnaturally.
In the blink of an eye, beast-like monsters crawled out of the sea, snarling, dripping salt and mana. Probably corrupted sea spirits or failed water familiars—twisted by some scumbag noble's experiment and dumped here.
Panic broke out. Screams. Children crying. People sprinting in every direction.
Noelle froze for a second. No other Magic Knights in sight. Even if she sent out a flare, they'd take half an hour to show.
She looked at Zura.
Still sleeping.
She couldn't leave him defenseless. But she couldn't stand by either.
I'm a Magic Knight of the Black Bulls.
That pride wouldn't let her run.
A beast charged her, razor-sharp jaws wide.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" she yelled, slamming a massive jet of spiraling water straight into the beast's chest. It exploded into mist.
But a second one came from her left.
She turned too late.
The beast rammed them both. Noelle went flying, slamming into the sand with a grunt. She flipped over twice, but before her momentum stopped, she formed a protective water sphere around Zura mid-air.
He bounced softly inside it, like a cocooned idiot.
Noelle rolled, coughing, face scraped.
Then she heard it.
The bubble popped.
"…What the hell," Zura muttered, blinking hard.
He sat up slowly, looked around at the chaos, the beasts, the beach, the screaming.
Then his eyes found Noelle.
Blood running down her lip. Sand on her cheek. But standing tall.
"What the hell happened?"
"No time," she said, already summoning another wave.
A beast lunged toward her.
Zura clenched his fists, stepped in front, and instinctively hurled a water ball the size of a watermelon straight at its head.
BOOM!
The thing dropped like a sack of meat.
Noelle blinked. "…That was a water ball?"
"Yeah," Zura said, panting. "But mine bite."
Two more came charging.
Noelle took the one on the left. "Sea Dragon's Cradle!"
A swirling spiral of water erupted and slammed the beast into the air like a ragdoll before it crashed back down into the waves.
Zura dodged right, dipped low, and threw two more water balls—one at the chest, one straight into the beast's mouth.
It exploded from the inside.
He grinned. "I'm getting better at this."
"You're showing off," Noelle snapped, though a smile tugged at her lips.
More beasts.
Bigger.
Zura cracked his neck. "Got enough mana for another round?"
"You're one to talk," she muttered. "You look like you're running on fumes."
"I had good cardio last night," Zura grinned. "I'll manage."
"Disgusting."
They stood back to back, the beach around them a mess of magic and saltwater.
Another beast lunged from above.
Zura kicked the sand and slid forward, then blasted a high-pressure water ball that punched through its gut like a cannon.
Noelle followed up by slicing through its remains with a whip of condensed water.
A beat of silence.
Then the last one—huge, like a fusion of a shark and a rhino—roared and charged them both.
Zura's hands were shaking. Mana low. Body screaming.
Noelle was breathing hard too.
But neither backed down.
"Combo?" he asked.
"Try to keep up," she said.
Noelle summoned her magic into a focused spiral and launched it straight ahead.
Zura poured what little magic he had into one last water ball—smaller, but glowing dark and dense.
The two attacks hit the beast head-on, spinning and crashing into its skull like a drill. It thrashed, screeched—
Then exploded in a splash of blood and seafoam.
The beach went quiet.
Silence returned.
Zura collapsed into the sand. "Okay… now I'm dead."
Noelle dropped beside him, coughing. "Idiot."
"I suddenly feel so weak…" Zura muttered. "I don't feel so good."
Noelle looked at him, chest rising and falling, soaked, panting.
She leaned back beside him.
"…You fought well," she said softly. "You used too much of your mana. You need to rest."
He turned his head, smirked. "You're falling for me, aren't you?"
"In your dreams."
Zura chuckled. "That's where all the good stuff happens, anyway."
And as the sun rose higher, they both laid there, half-dead. Together.
While Zura had immediately fallen into a deep sleep.
===
Author's Note: That combo though. 👀 You think Zura and Noelle make a solid team, or are they gonna kill each other first?
Drop on discord and help me set up a server. Please?!
https://discord.gg/E8vGXVvRbs