Magic Knights Entrance Exam Arc | Dungeon Exploration Arc | Royal Capital Assault Arc | Eye of the Midnight Sun Encounter Arc | Underwater Temple Arc | Forest of Witches Arc | Royal Knights Arc | Elf Reincarnation Arc | Heart Kingdom Joint Struggle Arc | Spade Kingdom Raid Arc
Despair vs. Hope
The Wizard King assign to the Black Bulls a mission to recover a magic stone in the Underwater Temple. During their search for the stone, the Black Bulls are blindsided by Vetto of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Together, the rowdy squad tries to defeat the fearsome foe.
Tropes:
- Arc Villain: Vetto leads members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun to obtain the magic stone in the Underwater Temple.
- Beach Episode: Subverted; the first chapter of the Underwater Temple Arc has the Black Bulls fooling around on a beach, with all the hijinks and fanservice required. Yami then tells them to quit screwing around, as they're on a mission, and they quickly get going.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just before Vetto attempts his Last Breath Bullet, Yami saunters in after cutting through the prison he was left in. After congratulating everyone for their hard work (and secretly musing about how their effort inspired him) he invents a new spell and subsequently one-shots their foe with it.
- Deus Exit Machina: Invoked when the Black Bulls attempt the Underwater Temple. The Water Priest excludes Yami from his challenges, and flat out tells him he's too powerful for this stage, and if he competes then the challenges won't be any fun. That said, it's subverted when the Eye of the Midnight Sun interrupts, elevates the threat level, and he's allowed to intervene.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Yami creates a new spell to defeat Vetto.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: During Asta's battle with Vetto in the Underwater Temple Arc, Vetto curb stomps Asta whilst listing the logical reasons why Asta hasn't a hope in the world of defeating him, those reasons being his poor attack range, general disadvantage against those who can magically enhance their physical ability, and his refusal to concede even when completely outmatched.
- Villainous Breakdown: While not the most stable individual in the first place, Vetto really starts to lose it as the heroes stubbornly refuse to give up hope no matter what he does to them. In the end, he collapses into total despair when facing imminent defeat.
- The Worf Effect: Gio is said to be the strongest person in the Underwater Temple, but Vetto beats him in no time to show how dangerous he is. Thus, this necessitates the Underwater Temple and Black Bulls teaming up.
