WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Clover Chapter #280, “Surging Disaster,” by Yuki Tabata, Taylor Engel and Annaliese "Ace" Christman, available now in English from Viz Media.
Hell has literally broken loose in Black Clover Chapter #280, “Surging Disaster,” and all hope seems lost for humankind. Nacht has his hands tied by two high-leveled devils; meanwhile, the other mages face the Dark Triad at 100 percent full strength and a hoard of devils breach the castle to attack the surrounding city. The only way to possibly stop the ensuing ritual is to kill Morris, but Nacht is in no position to ditch Jack, and even admits to Plumede, his devil familiar, that they are going to possibly die.
Not all is lost, though: Asta and Liebe are shown at end of the chapter, teasing the fact that they may have finished their training. But can their union really put an end to the rising purge of the devils?
Even if Asta and Liebe are able to make it to the battleground on time, there are currently a number of devils causing chaos. A giant devil has emerged from the sky somewhere else, the Dark Triad is overpowering all the mages facing them, and the two high ranking devils are causing massive damage without even lifting a finger. It seems like the best course of action will be to destroy the ritual of Qliphoth, but in order to do that, Morris has to be taken down. It's safer to assume that the ritual grounds are going to be guarded by devils, and the disruption of the ritual might even cause greater harm to Yami and Vangeance.
Chapter #280 also offers a small glimpse at other Magic Knights that are not involved in the battle, and the one that stands out is Wizard King Julius. With his assistance, there's a chance that the enemy can be stalled. The bulk of the Black Bulls are still nowhere to be found, so it could be that the brigade of misfits is actually sneaking through enemy lines to save Yami and Vangeance from the clutches of the ritual of Qliphoth.
Nacht teasing his own death is most likely foreshadowing someone else’s. There is definitely a great deal to lose if the devils prevail, and knowing Nacht, failure is no longer an option. Plumede shivering in fear validates the danger of the devils, but maybe he isn’t the only devil that fears the higher-ranking fiends. Each of the other Captains have had their most powerful magic backfire, and now the Dark Triad is in full control.
With each of the Dark Triad currently at 100 percent in the Black Clover manga, the series' current teams are no match for their indestructible bodies. There are other captains currently engaged with other foes, but with the release of so many devils, everyone is going to have their hands tied. It will take the collective force of all the kingdoms to stop the current threat, but it’s too soon to say if that will happen.
Even though Asta and Liebe are depicted at the end of Chapter #280, they will most likely not have mastery of their new form yet -- if they even accomplished a union in the first place. They may be able to defeat the lower-level devils, but considering the devils are only getting stronger thanks to the dark vines feeding off the world's mana, a miracle is going to have to happen for them to prevail. Unless Asta and Liebe can unleash magical power never seen before, this is the beginning of the end for humankind in Black Clover.
