Chapter 196

Mastermind (黒幕) is the 196th Page of Yūki Tabata's Black Clover.

Summary
Rhya thinks about how he knew all along that the humans have betrayed them was a lie since he is capable of discerning all matters of lies. Rhya also thinks about how he didn't want to tell the others the truth since he didn't want their burning desire for revenge against the humans to lesson. Rhya then thinks about how his lie was the fact that he wanted to see them all again, no matter what he had to do. Rhya wonders if the cost of all that was the hole straight through his gut. Rhya then wonders just who is the person that ripped the hole open is, since he has just been done in by the biggest liar of them all. Rhya finally wonders when Ronne had slipped into their midst.

Patolli rushes to Rhya's side and asks Ronne what he is doing. Ronne simply replies that the devil dwells within the five-leaf clover. Ronne then says that he remembers how he used the two chosen by the four-leaf clover grimoire to give birth to the grimoire of despair. Ronne steps over to the pedestal and comments about how he will finally obtain what he should have acquired that day, today. As Ronne places the magic stone in the pedestal, he says that the thing that he wants shall be summoned from hell to the Shadow Palace.

As a black mass starts to swell up, Ronne welcomes it back. A small black mass leaves Ronne's body and enters the larger one, while saying that he is home and causing Ronne to fall unconscious. Yuno wonders what is this black cold mana, while Patolli manages to recognize it. Patolli says that the person is a devil, while the black mass takes a solid form. The devil comments about how its wonderful to have a body in centuries, even through it is not complete. As Yuno is shocked by the devil, and wonder what it is. The devil laughs and tells Patolli that he senses the same despair in him, that Licht had on that day. Patolli asks what the devil means, which the devil tells him that he was the one that tricked the humans into destroying the elves on that day. The devil also explains how he easily manipulated the humans with their desires, and how the elves put their very lives on the line to carry out the vengeance he strung them into. The devil then laughs and says how everyone of them are fools.

Patolli tells the devil to give him that crap and launches a spell. As the spell gets closer to the devil, the devil says return and the spell head back to Patolli. Yuno quickly grabs both Patolli and Rhya, and uses a spell to dodge the incoming spell. Yuno tosses Patolli and Rhya to the side and tells Patolli that he won't allow him to do whatever he wants with Captain Vengeance's body. As the devil says that he was planning to deal with Yuno later, which Yuno replies that he can tells that he can already tell that the devil is scum. Yuno also says that he will end this by putting an end to the Devil right now, and fires a spell at the devil. The devil says vacuum wall and manages to destroy the spell. The devil then tells Yuno that everything is meaningless against his word magic. Yuno thinks about how since he has become stronger, he can tell that the devil magic is terrifying. Yuno also thinks about how he can't defeat the devil, if he was alone. As Asta and Yuno suddenly arrive, Yuno says that he is late while the devil smiles.