"Replaced" - Luck Voltia fanfic // Black Clover

Chapter 13: Feeling Empty, Yet?

"Try to scream, but once you do... I'll kill you."

That's Clovis's voice! The first thing I saw was a knife. I was frightened. Frightened like hell. I wanted to run, but Clovis holding his hand tightly over my mouth prevented me from being able to go anywhere.

"I have one question for you, Luck Voltia." It was scary, hearing him say my name like that. "Feeling empty, yet?" When I didn't answer due to my mouth being forced shut, he continued. "Y'know, it was my very intention to replace you from the beginning. You two looked like good friends, so why not have a little fun? And poor little Magna was too easy to manipulate. Oh, and that note I left in my room. Did you really think that I would be dumb enough to leave it there by accident?! If you knew me well, I would never write down my plans. I put it there on purpose because I knew you'd be a nosy brat. And it's usually human instinct to immediately tell your friend about it, right? I knew Magna would react so harshly, since he grew so close to me in the last two weeks. This was all a plan to make you despair. That was my true intention all along. Also, I was the one who pushed you after him when he was falling off the edge of the mountain after you met me, because I was hoping you'd fall and die."

My eyes widened. Breathing became much harder without my mouth assisting. I don't believe it... so it wasn't only Magna who was played... but so was I. We fell right in his trap exactly where he wanted us to be. I feel so stupid now. How did I fall for something so obvious? Maybe my awful feelings got in the way and distracted me from thinking strategically like usual.

Does that make it our fault or Clovis's?

Clovis forcefully dragged me into a random room of his choice. I didn't recognize the room. Maybe it was one of those rooms in the Base that no one ever walks in. He covered my mouth with something he had in his pocket, and used his ice magic to trap me to the ground in a sitting position. He bent down to my level and stared at me in the eyes. I felt so cold in the ice... it was freezing. It was probably not colder than his gaze. "Do me a favor. Be a good boy and stay put. Your squadmates most likely don't care about you anymore, so I'll just leave you here to die naturally."

What's worse is that the room he trapped me in locks from the inside. So Clovis locked it before he left and shut the door. So no one outside of the room can save me, and I'm trapped in Clovis's ice magic, so I can't get up and save myself. His binding spell also seemed to have concealed my magic. Some binding spell he's got. There's no hope of escape.

I shouldn't have played straight into his hands. I shouldn't have told Magna... but maybe it was necessary. He might realize... maybe not. I feel guilty. Clovis was acting all innocent and kind just to be able to carry out his plan. He didn't only try to replace me, but he also tried completely ruining my friendship with Magna. And it was all successful. Because we were dumb enough to fall for it. It was obvious... so why couldn't I tell that it was a trap earlier? I'm better than this! I have a sixth sense, where I can feel if something isn't right.

My feelings must have gotten in the way.

I feel so stupid.

I was stuck on the room floor in this ice-cold binding spell. It was really painful there. I felt like I was in the middle of the south pole. The silence became deafening. I couldn't hear anything since it was so silent. I couldn't scream or yell, because he covered my mouth with something to prevent that. And I can't move at all. I was utterly frozen in place. I feel betrayed for some reason.

Now Magna might end up being stabbed...

...because I couldn't do anything.

~*~

A day later, the Black Bulls were goofing off outside. "Hey, Noelle! You've gotten so much better at magic control! Do you think you could try practicing that spell for me again?" Vanessa asked her.

"O-Okay–!" Noelle answered as she began practicing her magic again.

"Make sure to eat lots, la!" Charmy said as she was once again stuffing Asta's face, but not with steak, with cake this time.

"I AID I'Y HOOD IZ HARMY–" Asta said through cake.

"Swallow before you speak, you idiot!" Noelle snapped as she turned to him.

Asta swallowed. "I said I'm good, Miz Charmy!"

"But you need to eat!" Charmy responded.

Gordon was mumbling from a distance.

Yami smoked. "Hey Finral, I need to go to the Royal Capital. Do you mind taking me there, Wheels?"

Finral looked irritated in his reply. "Sure..." He opened the portal.

Yami turned to the squad. "Everyone, I'll be going and I should be back by tonight. Have fun and don't destroy the base while I'm gone."

"YES, SIR!" Everyone responded.

Finral struggled. "C-Captain Yami? Could you please go now? It's really hard to keep a portal this big open–"

Yami narrowed his eyes at Finral. "If I tell you to wait for me, you wait for me. Surpass your limits, Wheels."

"And please st-stop calling me that...!" Finral replied.

Captain Yami ignored him and walked into the portal. After that, he closed it with a pant. "I would need off-the-charts magic control to be able to hold that open longer..."

"Okay, so it's just the rest of us now." Clovis commented.

"Mhm," Magna nodded.

"N-no one l-look at me~!" Grey said.

"No one's going to look at you if you don't say anything." Gauche informed her while rolling his eye.

"Something isn't right..." Asta's voice trailed off. He walked up to Magna. "Hey, Mister Magna? May I ask something?"

"What is it, Rasta?" Magna asked with a smile.

Asta looked nervous. "I saw him run inside the base and I checked his room earlier but he wasn't in there... but... do you know where Luck went?"